Lachlan Lewis (born 19 August 1996) is an Australian rugby league footballer who last played as a halfback or five-eighth for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL.
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Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Lachlan James Lewis | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 19 August 1996 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 90 kg (14 st 2 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Halfback, Five-eighth | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] As of 14 May 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
editLewis was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and is the son of former BRL footballer Scott Lewis and nephew of Queensland legend Wally Lewis.[2]
Lewis played his junior football for the Capalaba Warriors and the Souths Logan Magpies and was educated at Iona College, playing alongside future Waratah-turned-Rebel Brad Wilkin before being signed by the Canberra Raiders.[3] Lewis represented the Queensland under 16s and 18s team.[4] Lewis played for the Raiders NYC team in 2014-2016. On 17 April 2016, Lewis signed a 2-year contract with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs effective immediately.[5] Lewis played 10 matches for the Bulldogs NYC team in 2016.[6] On 13 July 2016, Lewis represented the Queensland Under 20s team against the New South Wales Under-20s team, playing off the interchange bench in the 36-22 loss at Suncorp Stadium.[7] Lewis played for the Bulldogs NSW Cup team in 2017.[8] Outside of Rugby League, Lewis is also a Licensed Plumber.
Playing career
edit2018
editLewis spent the first half of the season playing in Canterbury's NSW Cup team before the mid-season departure of Moses Mbye to the Wests Tigers and marquee half Kieran Foran was ruled out for the rest of the season after Round 12 due to being knee capped by Lewis. [9] In Round 16 of the 2018 NRL season, Lewis made his NRL debut for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs against the Newcastle Knights, playing at five-eighth in the 36-16 win at Hunter Stadium.[10] On 18 July 2018, Lewis extended his contract with the Bulldogs to the end of the 2020 season.[11] In Round 23 against the New Zealand Warriors, on his 22nd birthday, Lewis had exceptional match, scoring a try and kicking a field goal with 2 minutes remaining to win the match for the Bulldogs 27-26 at ANZ Stadium.[12] Lewis finished his debut year in the NRL playing in 9 matches, scoring 1 try and kicking 1 field goal for the Bulldogs in the 2018 NRL season.
2019
editIn the Good Friday Round 6 match against South Sydney, Lewis had a sledging battle with Souths captain Sam Burgess who said to Lewis that he would be “Found Out”. When Burgess would target the smaller Lewis, who is 26 kg lighter, Lewis put on big hits and forced an error from Burgess which got him frustrated and was deliberately slowing down the rucks during Canterbury's 14-6 loss at ANZ Stadium. Lewis commented that his battle with Burgess “It was probably like a fly hitting a car - it didn’t look like it affected him at all.”[13]
Following Canterbury's round 8 loss to Manly, Lewis was demoted to reserve grade by coach Dean Pay and was replaced by Jack Cogger. At the time of his demotion, Canterbury had only won 2 of their first 6 games.[14]
Lewis made a total of 15 appearances for Canterbury-Bankstown in the 2019 NRL season as the club finished 12th on the table. At one stage of the season, Canterbury were in last position on the ladder before achieving four upset victories in a row over Penrith, the Wests Tigers, South Sydney and Parramatta who were all competing for a place in the finals series and were higher on the table.[15][16]
2020
editLewis made 13 appearances for Canterbury in the 2020 NRL season. The club finished in 15th place on the table, only avoiding the Wooden Spoon by for and against.[17]
2021
editIn round 17 of the 2021 NRL season, Lewis scored two tries for Canterbury in a 22-16 loss against the Sydney Roosters, which left the club bottom of the table, four points adrift of second last Brisbane.[18]
The following week, Lewis was bizarrely sent to the sin bin after the half-time siren when he grabbed South Sydney player Cody Walker and threw him to the ground. Canterbury would go on to lose the match 32-24.[19]
On 31 August, Lewis was one of twelve players who were told by Canterbury that they would not be offered a contract for the 2022 season and would be released at season's end.[20]
Controversy
editOn 27 August 2021, Lewis was stood down by Canterbury after allegedly trying to sell on Ebay a soundbar provided by the NRL to teams in lockdown. The matter was referred onto the NRL Integrity Unit.[21][22]
References
edit- ^ "Lachlan Lewis - Career Stats & Summary". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.
- ^ Nephew of Wally Lewis, Lachlan Lewis, signed by NRL club Canberra Raiders from the Souths Logan Magpies
- ^ "Souths Logan product Lachlan Lewis forging his own path in Canberra | The Courier-Mail". Archived from the original on 18 April 2016.
- ^ "Canberra Raiders five-eighth Lachlan Lewis picked for Queensland State of Origin under-18s". 3 June 2014.
- ^ "Canterbury Bulldogs sign Wally Lewis' nephew to boost their halves stocks". 17 April 2016.
- ^ "Rookie Watch: Lachlan Lewis". 18 October 2016.
- ^ "Junior Blues make it five straight". 13 July 2016.
- ^ "2017 Team of the Year | ISP NSW". 28 August 2017.
- ^ "Bulldogs bargain rookies replacing Woods and Foran". 28 June 2018.
- ^ "NRL round 16: Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs beat Newcastle Knights at McDonald Jones Stadium". Archived from the original on 2 May 2019.
- ^ "Canterbury Bulldogs look to lock down young gun Lachlan Lewis long-term with new deal". 16 July 2018.
- ^ "Bulldogs upset Warriors with late field goal from Lachlan Lewis". 19 August 2018.
- ^ "Bulldogs half Lachlan Lewis reveals sledge that ignited running battle with Rabbitohs skipper Sam Burgess". 20 April 2019.
- ^ "Bulldogs pivot Kieran Foran praises attitude of dumped half Lachlan Lewis, backs him to shine at NRL level again". Sporting News.
- ^ "Spoons of wood, high hopes and chances lost... the final round storylines". Brisbane Times. 5 September 2019.
- ^ "The Dean Pay way: 'Unashamedly' old school". NRL. September 2019.
- ^ "Dogs confirm EIGHT-man clean-out in first glimpse of Barrett era". www.foxsports.com.au. 22 September 2020.
- ^ "Star's big halves switch Roosters must consider; Dog's audition for permanent role: 3 Big Hits". www.foxsports.com.au. 10 July 2021.
- ^ "Walker's class gets sloppy Bunnies home; Bulldogs pay for Lewis' all-time brain-fade: 3 Big Hits". www.foxsports.com.au. 18 July 2021.
- ^ "Bulldogs show Origin star the door as Gus puts broom through Belmore". www.foxsports.com.au. 3 September 2021.
- ^ "Canterbury's Lachlan Lewis stood down during NRL investigation into alleged off-field incident". www.abc.net.au. 27 August 2021.
- ^ Pengilly, Adam (3 September 2021). "Lewis caught red-handed with courier over plot for $650 eBay sale". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 September 2021.