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Bob Cooper, who played in the first State of Origin match for NSW in 1980, has died after a brief battle with cancer aged 67.

Foundation NSW State of Origin player Bob Cooper has died after a brief battle with cancer, aged 67.

One of the most controversial players of the late 1970s and early 1980s, Cooper made his name as a hardman at Western Suburbs.

He played 81 games for the club, before his stint at the Magpies ended when he copped the longest on-field ban in the game's history for an on-field fight in Wollongong.

After his 15-month suspension ended, he returned at North Sydney in 1984 but had his career cut short later that year with a shoulder injury.

A tough second-rower, Cooper also played in the opening Origin game for NSW in 1980.

He was selected in the Western Suburbs' team of the 1980s, with the club paying tribute to him on Saturday by labelling him as a "towering figure of that era".