Owen Cunningham is an Australian former 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 of the 1990s and 90s. A Queensland State of Origin representative forward, he played his club football for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles

The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...

 (with whom he won the 1996 premiership), North Queensland Cowboys

North Queensland Cowboys

The North Queensland Cowboys are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, Queensland. They compete in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...

 and Northern Eagles

Northern Eagles

The Northern Eagles were a rugby league team, that competed in the National Rugby League between 2000 and 2002. The club was formed during the rationalisation process of the NRL by the merger of the North Sydney Bears and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in 2000...

.
Following Manly's 1987 grand final victory, Cunningham travelled with them to England for the 1987 World Club Challenge

1987 World Club Challenge

The 1987 World Club Challenge was only the second game of its kind to be played between Britain's and Australia's respective domestic rugby league champions...

 against that country's champions, Wigan

Wigan Warriors

Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....

. Despite continuing to play for Manly in 1995, Cunningham had signed with Super League

Super League (Australia)

Super League was an Australian rugby league football administrative body that conducted professional competition in Australasia for one season in 1997. Along with Super League of Europe, it was created by News Corporation during the Super League war which arose following an unsuccessful attempt to...

 while in career-best form, which meant he was not eligible for selection in the 1995 State of Origin series. He played State of Origin for Queensland in one game the following year. While playing for the Cowboys he represented Queensland in Super League's Tri-series during 1997's split season. That season he was also named the Cowboys' player of the year.