Maroons, Raiders legend Sam Backo dies

Australian, Queensland and Canberra rugby league legend Sam Backo has died, aged 64.

A proud Warrgamay Indigenous man, he played seven State of Origin matches for the Maroons, six Tests for Australia, 116 matches for the Canberra Raiders and 20 for the Brisbane Broncos between 1983 and 1990 in a storied career.

NRL identities have paid tribute, including former Maroons captain Wally Lewis and Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys.

“It is with great sadness that I learned this afternoon of the passing of a great mate – Sam Backo,” Lewis wrote on Facebook.

“It was a privilege to play beside Sam, and to have him as a mate. I am very grateful [former Maroon and Bronco] Gene Miles and I got to visit Sam 10 days ago in hospital and have a few laughs with him.

“RIP Sam, you will be greatly missed. My deepest sympathies to your loving wife Chrissie and family.”

V’Landys said Backo “was as tough as they come, a larger-than-life character who was as recognisable as he was resilient”.

“Through a successful career with Canberra Raiders, Brisbane Broncos, not to mention Queensland and Australia, he was a one-of-a-kind footballer.

“A member of the Indigenous Team of the Century, Sam was also a generous and selfless man who was passionate about Indigenous health and advocacy away from the field.

“On behalf of the commission, I extend our sincerest condolences to Sam’s family, and all those who knew him.”

Last month, it was revealed the former front-rower was fighting for his life after contracting a potentially deadly tropical disease in Cairns.

He joined the Raiders in 1983, playing with them until 1988 – the year he was first selected for Queensland in State of Origin.

It was a 3-0 whitewash series win for the Maroons, with Backo claiming man of the match in the second and third games.

He later had stints with Leeds Rhinos in England (1988-89) and the Broncos (1989-90).

After his football career, he worked with Indigenous prisoners.

Sisters Inside chief executive Debbie Kilroy, whose husband Joe was also a professional league player and Origin representative, also paid tribute to Backo.

“RIP Sam Backo. Joe and I and the family will miss you,” she posted on social media.

“Sending condolences and care to all who loved you.”

Born in Ingham in north Queensland in 1961, Backo started his playing rugby league in Cairns. Before his then-NSWRL (now NRL) career took off, he played for Woden Valley in the ACT, Yeppoon in central Queensland and Fortitude Valley in the Brisbane Rugby League.

In 2017, Backo was one of 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives at Australia’s first national Indigenous constitutional convention at Uluru.

His mother Evelyn Scott was the chairwoman of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation and earlier played a major role in the ‘yes’ campaign for the landmark 1967 Constitutional Referendum on Indigenous rights.