New honour for Queensland great John 'Cracker' McDonald

Queensland’s first Origin coach John 'Cracker' McDonald is set to be immortalised by his hometown club, with the Toowoomba Valleys Roosters to name their grounds after the rugby league icon.

Valleys will officially rename their venue to the John McDonald Sports Complex today (Saturday, April 9) ahead of their A Grade side’s Round 2 clash with the Dalby Diehards.

The former Queensland Rugby League chairman started with Valleys in the 1960s, playing for both his state and country during this time.

In 1969, he was signed to Manly-Warringah in the NSWRL and his Toowoomba club were given a transfer fee – $9000 of which was used to purchase the grounds they still play on today.

Valleys president Gary de Joux said those grounds are now worth millions and it was therefore a fitting tribute to rename them in honour of McDonald.

“We’re recognising one of the Valleys icons,” de Joux said.

“The transfer fee that John got for the club … it was a $9000 investment that is now worth close to $8 million.

“We’re in a sound position with a good home base because of that.

“John has been involved in rugby league since his playing days in the 60s and the board made a decision that made sense.

"It’s actually something we’ve been thinking about for quite sometime.”

McDonald will be present on Saturday night when the club unveil the new signage in his honour, and he will also hand out the jerseys to the A Grade side.

A former chairman of the Toowoomba Rugby League, de Joux said that McDonald still held plenty of respect within the community and he expected a good crowd to turn out to pay tribute to the 77-year-old.

“He brings nostalgia and that prestige to our club,” de Joux said.

“He brings with him that knowledge of the history of the game and has that aura of an being icon to our younger players.

“You’ll hear a pin drop when he speaks on Saturday … people have an enormous amount of respect for him.”

The presentation for McDonald will begin at 6.25pm on Saturday, as well as a dedication to long-time volunteer Richie Phillips, who passed away earlier this year.

Main image: Rob Moore with John McDonald at the Queensland Sports Awards. Photo: supplied