# John Plath

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{{Short description|Australian rugby league footballer}}
{{Refimprove|date=May 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox rugby league biography
|name           = John Plath
|fullname       = 
|image          =  
|caption        =  
|position       = Utility
|birth_date     = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1969|03|17}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Where are they Now? John Plath|url=http://www.broncos.com.au/news/2014/04/20/where_are_they_now_john_plath.html|website=broncos.com.au|date=19 April 2014 |publisher=[Brisbane Broncos](/source/Brisbane_Broncos)|accessdate=27 July 2014}}</ref>
|birth_place    = [Gayndah](/source/Gayndah%2C_Queensland), [Queensland](/source/Queensland), [Australia](/source/Australia)
|height         =  
|weight         =  
|club1          = [Brisbane Broncos](/source/Brisbane_Broncos)
|year1start     = 1990
|year1end       = 99
|appearances1   = 149
|tries1         = 20
|goals1         = 0
|fieldgoals1    = 0
|points1        = 80
|updated        = 7 March 2012 
|source         = <ref>[http://rugbyleagueproject.com/players/John_Plath.html RLP]</ref>
|new            = yes
| module       = {{infobox person
| embed        = yes
| father       = 
| mother       = 
| spouse       = 
| education    = [Brisbane State High School](/source/Brisbane_State_High_School)
| alma_mater   = 
| relatives    = [Max Plath](/source/Max_Plath) (son)
}}
}}

'''John Plath''' (born 17 March 1969; [Gayndah](/source/Gayndah), Queensland)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/03/29/legend-qa-john-plath/ | title=Legend Q&A: John Plath | date=29 March 2020 }}</ref> is an Australian former [rugby league](/source/rugby_league) footballer who played in the 1990s. He played in all of the [Brisbane Broncos](/source/Brisbane_Broncos)' first four grand final wins from the interchange bench and retired as the most-capped Bronco not to have played representative football.<ref>https://www.theroar.com.au/2022/04/29/the-best-broncos-who-never-played-representative-football/</ref>

Plath was a [Queensland](/source/Queensland) schoolboy [rugby union](/source/rugby_union) representative in 1986/87. He played [rugby league](/source/rugby_league) for [Wynnum-Manly Seagulls](/source/Wynnum-Manly_Seagulls) before he was graded by the [Brisbane Broncos](/source/Brisbane_Broncos) from their Colts team in [1990](/source/Brisbane_Broncos_1990). Plath also had a season with the [London Crusaders](/source/London_Broncos) in [1991-92](/source/1991-92_Rugby_Football_League_season).<ref>{{cite web|last1=Whiticker|first1=Alan|title=John Plath|url=http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/john-plath/summary.html|website=rugbyleagueproject.org|publisher=Shawn Dollin, Andrew Ferguson and Bill Bates.|accessdate=27 July 2014}}</ref>

His utility value saw him on the bench in the Broncos' inaugural grand final win in [1992](/source/Brisbane_Broncos_1992). In the weeks following the grand final, Plath travelled with the Broncos to England, where he played from the interchange bench in the [1992 World Club Challenge](/source/1992_World_Club_Challenge) against British champions [Wigan](/source/Wigan_Warriors), helping Brisbane become the first NSWRL club to win the match in Britain. The following year, he again played in the Broncos' grand final, helping them to a second consecutive premiership. He was a replacement player in Brisbane's 14-20 loss to [Wigan](/source/Wigan_Warriors) in the [1994 World Club Challenge](/source/1994_World_Club_Challenge) at [Lang Park](/source/Lang_Park). Plath was also used from the bench in Brisbane's win over the [Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks](/source/Cronulla-Sutherland_Sharks) in the Broncos' [Super League](/source/Super_League_(Australia)) grand final for the [1997 Telstra Cup](/source/1997_Telstra_Cup) before keeping his big-game interchange reputation intact in a cameo role in the Broncos' [1998 NRL grand final](/source/1998_NRL_grand_final) win against the [Canterbury Bulldogs](/source/Canterbury_Bulldogs).

After retiring from playing, Plath spent two years at Wynnum-Manly as a development officer and CEO.{{cn|date=June 2025}}

In 2016, John Plath or "Plathy" as he is affectionately known returned to rugby union assisting in coaching the Wynnum Bugs. He also took on a special mentoring project at the club with the team's struggling players, giving them a name "The Red Rockets" to try to lift them out of their squalor.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Blaschke|first1=Ben|title=Where Are They Now? John Plath: Title-winning Bronco|url=http://www.nrl.com/where-are-they-now-john-plath-title-winning-bronco/tabid/10874/newsid/63955/default.aspx|website=nrl.com|publisher=[National Rugby League](/source/National_Rugby_League)|accessdate=27 July 2014}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Plath's son [Max](/source/Max_Plath) also played for [Wynnum-Manly Seagulls](/source/Wynnum-Manly_Seagulls) and was signed by the [Dolphins (NRL)](/source/Dolphins_(NRL)) in 2023.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.qrl.com.au/news/2023/04/12/exciting-utility-plath-signs-with-dolphins/ | title=Exciting utility Plath signs with Dolphins &#124; QRL | date=11 April 2023 }}</ref> Plath’s youngest son Jordan Plath signed with the South Sydney Rabbitohs [NSW Cup](/source/NSW_Cup) team.

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{Brisbane Broncos - 1992 World Club Challenge Winners}}
{{Brisbane Broncos squad 1992 NSWRL premiership}}
{{Brisbane Broncos squad 1993 NSWRL premiership}}
{{Brisbane Broncos - 1997 World Club Championship Winners}}
{{Brisbane Broncos squad 1997 Super League premiership}}
{{Brisbane Broncos squad 1998 NRL premiership}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plath, John}}
Category:1969 births
Category:Living people
Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen
Category:Australian rugby league administrators
Category:Australian rugby league players
Category:Brisbane Broncos players
Category:People educated at Brisbane State High School
Category:Rugby league halfbacks
Category:Rugby league hookers
Category:Rugby league locks
Category:Rugby league players from Queensland
Category:Wynnum Manly Seagulls players

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [John Plath](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Plath) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Plath?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.