Born: March 27, 1970
Test record: 22 Tests (1991, 1993-95, 1998-99) - 5 tries (20 points)
Tours: 1994 tour of Papua New Guinea, 1998 tour of Great Britain
Firebrand centre/second-rower Jarrod McCracken played 22 Tests for New Zealand and one of the most prominent stars of the Australian premiership's Kiwi invasion in the 1990s.
The son of 1960s Kiwis winger Ken McCracken, he represented the Junior Kiwis in 1988 and went from Glenora Bears to the North Sydney Bears' lower grades as part of the NZRL's rookie scheme in 1989. He stayed on in Australia in 1990, playing for Port Macquarie and scoring a try in the NSW North Coast rep team's win over France.
McCracken was an immediate sensation after being recruited by Canterbury-Bankstown in 1991. After just 11 first-grade games, the 21-year-old scored two tries on Test debut in a 60-6 win over France at Carlaw Park.
The blonde-haired powerhouse centre was one of the standouts of New Zealand's unforgettable 24-8 upset of Australia in the 1991 series opener, scoring a crucial second-half try, but was sent off (along with Australia's Peter Jackson) for fighting in the 44-0 loss in the second Test in Sydney. He crossed for another four-pointer in the third-Test defeat in Brisbane.
McCracken's debut campaign for the Bulldogs finished early thanks to an eight-week biting suspension, while injuries ruled him out of the Kiwis' 1992 schedule.
After an off-season with St Helens, he returned to the New Zealand line-up for all three Tests of a hard-fought 1993 series against Australia and helped Canterbury to the minor premiership but failed a medical for the end-of-year tour of Great Britain and France.
McCracken was a vital component of the Bulldogs' drive to another minor premiership and a grand final appearance (a 36-12 loss to Canberra) in 1994, before playing both Tests on New Zealand's tour of Papua New Guinea.
He featured in all five mid-1995 Tests against France (scoring a try in the 16-all at Palmerston North) and Australia but his season was thrown into chaos when he backflipped on a Super League contract to sign with the ARL and Parramatta. Unlike teammates and fellow defectors Dean Pay, Jason Smith and Jim Dymock (who all subsequently joined him at the Eels), McCracken was left on the outer by Bulldogs coach Chris Anderson and missed the club's remarkable charge to the premiership.
Ineligible for Kiwis selection in 1996-97 due to his ARL allegiance, McCracken was a tryscorer in Rest of the World's loss to Australia in the latter season - a year that also saw the hard-running, tough-tackling 27-year-old switch to the second-row for the Eels.
McCracken was recalled by the Kiwis in his new position for the 1998 Anzac Test victory over Australia, as well as both post-season losses to the Kangaroos and all three Tests of the series win in Great Britain. Co-captain of the Eels with Pay in 1998-99, the veteran skippered New Zealand in what would be his final international appearance, the gallant 20-14 Anzac Test defeat in Sydney in 1999.
'Crackers' signed with the fledgling Wests Tigers joint venture in 2000 but suffered a career-ending neck injury midway through the year in his 164th top-grade game.