Returning from the War where he was a Royal Australian Navy Boxing champion, Donoghue commenced the shortest lower grade career in South Sydney history in 1948.
[4] He won 'man of the match' honours in Souths Sydney's losing Grand Final side against St George Dragons in 1949, and starred in their subsequent premierships in 1950 and 1951.
Losing stars Greg Hawick and Clive Churchill mid season and running equal last, the bunnies won 11 consecutive games to take out the championship, beating Newtown by a single point.
He retired to the Wollongong competition in 1957, playing as captain-coach for one year at the Collegians, before returning to the South Sydney Rabbitohs as first grade coach for the next five seasons.
Donoghue was also part of the now infamous 1954 match between NSW and England at the Sydney Cricket Ground where referee Aub Oxford turned his back and walked off as almost all players stopped playing the game and commenced street brawling.
Devastated, he immediately stood down from Test representative duties following it and refused to make himself available for selection[6] He is listed on the Australian Players Register as Kangaroo No.
[7] One year after retiring as a player, Denis Donoghue became coach of South Sydney Rabbitohs in 1959 and stayed in that position until the end of the 1963 season.