Nicknamed Sparkles,[2] he achieved national and state representative honors in the sport and following his retirement became one of the Gladiators in the Australian version of the TV show.
His try in Game I came in the final seconds of the match, when McGaw chased a loose ball, desperately dived towards it and touched down centimetres inside the dead-ball line to clutch victory for New South Wales, making it one of the most iconic tries in State of Origin history.
McGaw was selected to play at centre for Australia in their victory over New Zealand at the 1988 Rugby League World Cup final in Auckland.
In the first Test against Great Britain at Wembley Stadium, McGaw scored a remarkable solo try from half-way, outpacing or outmuscling six British defenders as he charged to the try-line.
The Supreme Court jury found that the story made two defamatory imputations: that McGaw was "a man of dangerous domestic violence", and that he "bashed his lover so severely that she was hospitalized with horrific injuries".