Ron Costello was a professional Australian Rugby League player who grew up in Shellharbour and attended Shellharbour Public School.
Ron rose from the ranks of Shellharbour Juniors, and signed to play with Illawarra Collegians in 1967, winning the Club Championship and First Grade Premiership that season. He went on to represent NSW and play for the Western Suburbs Magpies and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs..
In 1969 Ron was selected to play for Australia, touring New Zealand as a second row forward, and in 1970 he represented Australia in the Ashes against Great Britain, the World Cup, and a second tour of New Zealand.
In 1973 he returned to the Illawarra Competition with Port Kembla, and finished his career at Shellharbour in 1980, where he had first started. Ron was named in the Illawarra Rugby League Team of the Century in 2010.
Shellharbour City Council acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Dharawal Country and recognises their continued connection to the land.
We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and the contribution they make to the life of this City.