[2] Muir was educated and played junior rugby league at Coolangatta State School and represented Queensland Schoolboys in 1951.
He also played in the Queensland victory over New South Wales that attracted 35,261 spectators, smashing Brisbane's previous record for an interstate match of 22,817.
He was abruptly sent-off by referee Eric Clay in the Third Test at Headingley, Leeds for a reckless kick directed towards his opposite number Tommy Smales when the ball came out of a scrum on the Great Britain side.
Muir would lead Redcliffe to the 1973 Brisbane Rugby League Grand Final, with the Dolphins losing to Fortitude Valley 15–7.
[6][7] Before the final match of the 1976 interstate series he was watching a replay of an old game in the Queensland team's hotel when he spotted a cockroach.
A Sydney reporter overheard and the nickname stuck.In the 1980s, he would later coach Queensland Country, Combined Brisbane, and Norths Devils.
[2] Muir was a long time outspoken critic of the system that allowed the best Queensland club players to move to the Sydney competition and then to represent New South Wales.
[4] This widely held sentiment eventually led to the birth of the Rugby League State of Origin concept.