Jarrod McCracken

Jarrod McCracken (born 27 March 1970) is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is a former captain of the New Zealand national rugby league team and is the son of New Zealand rugby league international, Ken McCracken. McCracken played club football in Australia, captaining both the Parramatta Eels and Wests Tigers during his career which ended with a spear tackle which he successfully sued for. During his time in the game, McCracken was regarded as one of the hardest running and most damaging Centres in the world.

Professional career

McCracken made his debut for Parramatta in 1996 against South Queensland scoring a try in a 24-20 loss. In 1997, McCracken played 21 games as Parramatta finished 3rd and qualified for the finals for the first time since 1986. Parramatta then went on to lose both finals matches against Newcastle and North Sydney in which they lead both games at half time before capitulating in the second half.

In 1998, McCracken co-captained Parramatta and change positions moving into the forwards. Parramatta finished 4th at the end of the season and qualified for the finals. McCracken played in all 3 finals games for the club including the heartbreaking preliminary final loss to his former team Canterbury.

With Parramatta leading 18-2 with less than 10 minutes to play, Canterbury staged a comeback scoring 3 tries in 8 minutes with Canterbury player Daryl Halligan kicking 2 goals from the sideline to tie the game at 18-18. Parramatta player Paul Carige then made a series of personal errors which cost Parramatta dearly in extra time with Canterbury going on to win 32-20. The game is often referred to as one of the biggest preliminary final chokes of all time.

In 1999, McCracken played nearly every game for Parramatta as they finished 2nd on the table at the end of the regular season. Parramatta reached the preliminary final against Melbourne where they lead 16-0 at half time before a second half capitulation ended with the club losing 18-16. The match was also McCracken's last for Parramatta.

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