Mark 'Sparkles' McGaw

Cronulla junior formed a lethal partnership in the centres with Andrew Ettingshausen before moving to Penrith in 1993. 'Sparkles' McGaw was clearly set for stardom when he played a blinder on debut against three-times premiers P’matta in 1984. He played against the 1986 Kangaroos while guesting with Ettingshausen at Leeds and the pair made their NSW debut the following year. McGaw scored the winning try on the bell in the first State of Origin match of the series in 1988 and made his Test debut against the Rest of the World that year. Test appearances against France and NZ followed in 1990 and he was selected to tour with the Kangaroos. In a fantastic individual effort McGaw's blockbusting try was the highlight of Australia's First Test loss at Wembley but, in the following match, he suffered a medial ligament injury that ended his tour. McGaw’s recovery was slow and although used as a replacement on the Australian tour of Papua New Guinea (one match) the ensuing years did not see him at his best. McGaw's move to Penrith was seen as his chance to play at a competitive club and restart his flagging representative career but it turned out to be a personal and professional disaster. McGaw seemed to lose all confidence and asked for a release from his contract after just one season. 1994 saw him with battlers Souths and although there were glimpses of his old magic his final two seasons in the game were again affected by injury and suspension. McGaw retired in 1996 and pursued a career as a male model as well as appearing in the short-lived ‘Gladiators’ TV program.