Michael Morgan

Michael Morgan displayed class and potential from the time he made his NRL debut for North Queensland Cowboys, as an 18-year-old in 2010.

His consistency allowed him to achieve a remarkable family double in 2015 when he was chosen for his State of Origin debut.

Exactly 100 years earlier, Morgan's great grandfather, Duncan McIvor made his debut for Queensland against New South Wales, from North Queensland.

Morgan played junior rugby league for Townsville Brothers, and attended Ignatius Park College. He represented Australian Schoolboys and played Toyota Cup with the Cowboys, while still at school.

He made 60 appearances in the under 20s, either side of his NRL debut for the Cowboys. Morgan played halfback in the Cowboys 31-30 loss to New Zealand Warriors in the 2011 National Youth Competition grand final.

He is tough, talented and versatile. They were the qualities we were looking for when we picked him for Queensland.

Mal Meninga FOG #4

He cemented his position in the halves for the Cowboys in 2012, alongside Queensland Maroons' legend, Johnathan Thurston, and scored three tries in a 33-16 win over the Broncos in a qualifying final in Townsville.

Morgan was named in the QAS Emerging Origin squad in 2013, along with the likes of Daly Cherry-Evans, Aidan Guerra, Andrew McCullough, Josh McGuire, Justin O’Neill and Josh Papalii.

Later that year, Morgan went back to the Intrust Super Cup, on compassionate grounds, after the death of his best friend, Alex Elisala. Morgan went on to lead the Mackay Cutters to a 27-20 grand final victory over Easts Tigers.

In 2014, Morgan returned to the NRL at fullback, replacing Lachlan Coote, who suffered an ACL injury at the Auckland Nines.

Morgan excelled and was called into the Queensland squad as 19th man for Game III. He made his Origin debut in 2015, off the interchange bench. He played all three games, and scored a try in the Maroons' record 52-6 win in the decider in Brisbane.

Morgan was an inspirational figure in the Cowboys' come-from-behind victory over the Broncos in the 2015 NRL grand final, providing a clutch play at the death, putting winger Kyle Feldt over for a try, to send the game into overtime. The Cowboys went on to claim a 17-16 victory, after Thurston kicked a field goal.

Morgan played in Game I and Game II of the 2016 Origin series and all three games in 2017, including a starting berth in the centres.  

When Thurston suffered a mid-season shoulder injury in 2017, Morgan stepped up in spectacular fashion, calling the shots like a veteran, with the Cowboys defying the odds to reach the grand final.

Morgan, who had made his Test debut in 2016, played five-eighth outside Cooper Cronk in Australia's World Cup final win over England at Suncorp Stadium, on December 2, 2017.

That proved to be the last of his 12 Tests for his country. He played Origin again in 2018 and 2019 and finished his career in Maroon with 12 matches to his credit.

He took over as Cowboys' skipper in 2019 after the retirement of club legends, Thurston and Matt Scott, leading the side from halfback in 20 games that season.

Morgan announced his retirement in April, 2021, as a result of complications to a shoulder injury he had battled for some time. He played 168 matches for the Cowboys, scoring 58 tries and kicking five field goals.

Whether playing fullback, centre, five-eighth or halfback, he gave his all and proved a class act.

Morgan took on a career in business administration, following his retirement announcement.