Wests Archive would like to thank John Purcell for generously contributing his time and information in the preparation of this profile.
John Purcell was born in the Western Suburbs district and grew up at Homebush West. He was educated at the Marist Brothers Primary School at Auburn where he first played rugby league. His first year playing rugby league was with the 4 stone 7lbs weight restricted team at Marist Brothers.
He then attended Marist Brothers High School at Auburn where he played rugby league for three years against other schools. On the weekends, he also played with Marist Brothers in the Western Suburbs Junior Rugby League competition.
John Purcell was interviewed by Tony Lewis from Pratten Park Magpies in 2015. That interview informs part of this player profile and can be accessed by clicking on the link to Pratten Park Magpies