Joel Thompson (rugby league)

Joel Thompson
Thompson playing for Country in the 2015 City vs Country Origin
Personal information
Born (1988-08-24) 24 August 1988
Ivanhoe, New South Wales, Australia
Height 190 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight 101 kg (15 st 13 lb)
Playing information
Position Second-row, Centre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2008–13 Canberra Raiders 89 28 0 0 112
2014– St. George Illawarra Dragons 62 9 0 0 36
Total 151 37 0 0 148
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2010–13 Indigenous All Stars 4 0 0 0 0
2011–15 Country Origin 2 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]

Joel Thompson is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the St. George Illawarra Dragons of the National Rugby League. An Indigenous All stars and NSW Country Origin representative, Thompson primarily plays at second-row and centre. Thompson previously played for the Canberra Raiders between 2008 and 2013.

Background

Born in Ivanhoe, New South Wales, Thompson is of Indigenous Australian descent. Thompson played his junior rugby league for the Forbes Magpies and attended Red Bend Catholic College before being signed the Canberra Raiders.[2] Thompson represented the Australian Schoolboys in 2006 and played for the Junior Kangaroos in 2007.[3][4]

Playing career

2008

In the 2008 season, Thompson played in the Canberra Raiders NYC team, being named at second-row in the 2008 NYC Team of the Year.[5][6] In Round 26 of the 2008 NRL season, Thompson made his NRL debut for the Raiders against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs off the interchange bench in the 52-34 win at Canberra Stadium.[7] This was Thompson’s only NRL match for the Raiders in the 2008 NRL season.

2009

On 2 February 2009, Thompson was stood down from the Raiders squad pending the outcome of an assault allegation on his girlfriend.[8] Thompson was later proven not guilty and returned towards the end of the season in Round 18 against the Newcastle Knights playing off the interchange bench in the Raiders 23-4 loss at Hunter Stadium.[9][10] In Round 22 against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Thompson scored his first NRL career try in the Raiders 23-20 loss at ANZ Stadium.[11] Thompson played in 9 matches and scored 2 tries for the Raiders in the 2009 NRL season.

2010

On 13 February 2010, Thompson was selected for the inaugural Indigenous All Stars team against the NRL All Stars at Cbus Super Stadium, playing off the interchange bench in the 16-12 loss.[12] Thompson played in 15 matches and scored 10 tries for the Raiders in the 2010 NRL season. Thompson season ended in Round 17 against the Sydney Roosters after succumbing to a groin injury in the 22-12 win at Canberra Stadium.[13] On 10 September 2010, Thompson re-signed with the Raiders to the end of the 2013 season.[14]

2011

On 12 February 2011, Thompson was again selected for the Indigenous All Stars team for the NRL All Stars match at Cbus Super Stadium, playing off the interchange bench in the 28-12 loss.[15] On 6 May 2011, Thompson was selected for the NSW Country Origin team against the NSW City Origin at centre in the 18-12 win at Lavington Sports Ground in Albury, New South Wales.[16] Thompson played in 21 matches and scored 6 tries for the Raiders in the 2011 NRL season.

2012

On 4 February 2012, Thompson was selected for the Indigenous All Stars team against the NRL All Stars at Cbus Super Stadium, playing off the interchange bench in the 36-28 loss.[17] Thompson played in 25 matches and scored 7 tries for the Raiders in the 2012 NRL season.

2013

On 9 February 2013, Thompson was selected for the Indigenous All Stars team against the NRL All Stars at Suncorp Stadium, playing at second-row in the 32-6 win.[18] On 18 April 2013, it was announced that Thompson had signed a 3-year contract to join the St. George Illawarra Dragons worth $1.3M, starting in 2014.[19] Thompson played 18 matches and scored 8 tries in his last year with the Canberra Raiders in the 2013 NRL season.

2014

In February 2014, Thompson was selected for the St George Illawarra Dragons inaugural Auckland Nines squad.[20] In Round 1 of the 2014 NRL season, Thompson made his club debut for the St George Illawarra Dragons against the Wests Tigers, playing off the interchange bench in the 44-24 win at ANZ Stadium.[21] On 11 May 2014, it was rumoured that Thompson was seeking a return to the Canberra Raiders but later decided to stay at the Dragons.[22] In Round 13 against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Thompson played his 100th NRL career match in the 30-0 win at WIN Stadium.[23] In Round 21 against the Sydney Roosters, Thompson scored his first club try for the Dragons in the 30-22 loss at the Sydney Football Stadium.[24] Thompson finished off his first year with the St George Illawarra Dragons in the 2014 season with him playing in 23 matches and scoring 3 tries.

2015

On 21 January 2015, Thompson was named in the Dragons 2015 NRL Auckland Nines squad.[25] On 3 May 2015, Thompson played for NSW Country Origin against NSW City Origin in the 2015 City vs Country Origin, playing at second-row in the 34-22 win at Wagga Wagga.[26] Thompson finished the 2015 NRL season with him playing in 19 matches and scoring 3 tries for the Dragons. On 15 December 2015, Thompson was named at second-row for the Indigenous All Stars team to play against the NRL All Stars on 13 February 2016.[27]

2016

On 13 February 2016, Thompson played for the Indigenous All Stars against the World All Stars, starting at second-row in the 12-8 loss at Suncorp Stadium.[28]

References

  1. ↑ "Joel Thompson - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  2. ↑ "Hometown boys crowd favourites". Daily Liberal. 2010-02-25. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  3. ↑ "2006 AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLBOYS TEAM - Queensland Secondary Schools Rugby League". Fox Sports Pulse. 2006-07-15. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  4. ↑ "Junior Kangaroos [Archive] - The Front Row Forum :: Rugby League". Forums.leagueunlimited.com. 2007-09-25. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  5. ↑ "Toyota Cup Team of the Year". Heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  6. ↑ "Under 20s 2008 Team of the Year : Where Are They Now". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  7. ↑ "Raiders grab sixth spot, beat Dogs 52-34". Wwos.ninemsn.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  8. ↑ "Raiders Act Over Assault Charges". Foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  9. ↑ Jean, David (2009-03-03). "Young Raider denies assault, back at training". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  10. ↑ "Courageous Knights down Raiders". theage.com.au. 2009-07-11. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  11. ↑ "Dogs hold off fast-finishing Raiders - NRL.com". M.nrl.com. 2009-08-09. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  12. ↑ "Indigenous All Stars Win Historic Victory". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  13. ↑ "Todd Carney's triumphant return to Canberra". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  14. ↑ "JCanberra Re-Signs Joel Thompson". Heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  15. ↑ "All Stars See Off Indigenous Side". Couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  16. ↑ "Rugby League Origin | Country beats City | Photos". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  17. ↑ "Indigenous All Stars Take On NRL All Stars". Foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  18. ↑ Burke, Dominic (2013-02-09). "REPLAY: Indigenous All Stars 32 d NRL All Stars 6 at Suncorp Stadium". News.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  19. ↑ "Joel Thompson Signs 12m Deal With St George Illawarra Dragons". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  20. ↑ "Squads For Auckland Nines". Rugby League Week. 2014-02-14. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  21. ↑ Michael Chammas (2014-03-09). "St George Illawarra Dragons v Wests Tigers". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  22. ↑ "Dragons forward Joel Thompson set to return to Canberra Raiders". Canberratimes.com.au. 2014-05-10. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  23. ↑ "St George Illawarra Dragons v Cronulla Sharks". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  24. ↑ "Roosters welcome back Jennings in style". NRL.com. 2014-08-02. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  25. ↑ "DRAGONS NAME 2015 NINES SQUAD". Rugby League Week. 2015-01-21. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  26. ↑ "Live: City Origin v Country Origin". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  27. ↑ http://www.nrl.com/teams-named-for-nrl-all-stars-match/tabid/10874/newsid/91188/default.aspx
  28. ↑ Chris Garry (13 February 2016). "World All Stars defeat Indigenous All Stars 12-8 at Suncorp Stadium". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 February 2016.

External links

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