Doug Ricketson was a rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 footballer in the New South Wales Rugby League

New South Wales Rugby League

The New South Wales Rugby League is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and is a member of the Australian Rugby League. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was known as the New South Wales Rugby Football League until 1984 when forward thinking marketing managers decided...

 (NSWRL) competition. He played for the Eastern Suburbs

Sydney Roosters

The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...

 and Penrith

Penrith Panthers

The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan...

 clubs and is the father of Eastern Suburbs' longest serving player, Luke Ricketson

Luke Ricketson

Luke Ricketson is an Australian retired professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. An Australian and Ireland international, and New South Wales State of Origin representative back-rower, he played his entire club football career for the Sydney Roosters of the NRL...

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A centre, Ricketson was a member of the Eastern Suburbs side that was defeated by St George in the 1960 Grand Final. He also represented Sydney in a match against Great Britain

Great Britain national rugby league team

The Great Britain national rugby league team represents the United Kingdom in rugby league football. Administered by the Rugby Football League , the team is nicknamed "The Lions" or "Great Britain Lions"....

. In 1967, Ricketson played for Penrith in their debut season in the NSWRFL premiership

New South Wales Rugby League premiership

The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League from 1908 until 1994, the premiership was the state's and later the country's elite rugby league competition...

 before a knee injury brought about an end to his career.

Formerly an athletic coach at Waverley College

Waverley College

Waverley College is a Roman Catholic, secondary, day school for boys, located at Waverley, in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....

, in Sydney, Ricketson spent many years coaching in country areas including Temora

Temora, New South Wales

Temora is a town located in north east part of the Riverina area of New South Wales, south-west of the state capital, Sydney. At the 2006 census the population of Temora was 4,086.-History:...

 where his daughter Kylie was born and South Grafton

Group 1 Rugby League

Group 1 Rugby League was a former rugby league competition held in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, run under the auspices of the Country Rugby League. The group, however, still runs a junior rugby league competition...

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