Former St George Illawarra Dragons, New South Wales Rugby League and National Rugby League chairman Warren Lockwood has been recognised in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours list where he was appointed as a Member of the Order of the Australia (AM).
Warren was recognised for his significant service to rugby league as an administrator, and to the community.
"It has been my honour and privilege to have played a role in the delivery of health services for the benefit of the St George Community and to also have had the opportunities to play a key role in the administration of rugby league across all levels of the game," he said.
"I am very grateful to receive this recognition. It is very humbling and whilst it is a personal award, it is something that I believe belongs to all my family – my wife Jan and children Gary and Sandra – whose support enabled me to have these opportunities."
Warren played a significant role in the delivery of health services for the benefit of the St George Community at both St George Public and Hurstville Community Hospitals for over three decades.
These roles helped begin his associated with rugby league as he was appointed to the board of St George Leagues Club in 1983. He would become chairman in 1990, going on to become the longest serving chairman of 22 years. Standing down in 2012, he later resigned from the board in 2018, after 35 years of service to the Leagues Club.
Warren also joined the board of the St George District Rugby League Club in 1988 when the Leagues Club assumed management for the district club. He became chairman in 1991 and was the club's delegate to the NSWRL, an organisation of which he later became chairman (1997) where he played a key role in unifying the game post the Super League War.
Warren was appointed as deputy chairman of the Australian Rugby League during this tumultuous time in rugby league history and was later elected the inaugural chairman of the NRL when it formed in 1998; a position he held for two years.
Warren's long service to the St George district club board and game-wide experience saw him appointed to join the St George Illawarra Dragons board in 2001, where he soon after assumed the role of chairman of the joint-venture. It would be a position he held for 16 years until his 2017 retirement.
Everyone at the St George Illawarra Dragons wishes to congratulate Warren for his due recognition in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours list.
