Rory O'Brien (born 2 June 1989) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He most recently played for the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League, as a prop. He previously played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons.
 O'Brien playing for the Illawarra Cutters in 2014. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 2 June 1989 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 195 cm (6 ft 5 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 126 kg (19 st 12 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Prop | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] As of 4 March 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
editBorn in Sydney, New South Wales, O'Brien is of Māori and Irish descent and played his junior football for Hurstville United, before being signed by the St. George Illawarra Dragons.
Playing career
editEarly career
editIn 2008, O'Brien played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons' NYC team,[2] before giving up the game in early 2009.[3] In 2013, he took up rugby league again, playing with the Collegians in the Illawarra Rugby League and winning the 2013 Country Rugby League Player of the Year award along with former Newcastle Knights, Sydney Roosters and Gold Coast Titans player Riley Brown.[4] In October 2013, he played for the New South Wales Country Residents team that toured South Africa.[5] In 2014, he joined the Illawarra Cutters in the New South Wales Cup.[6] On 26 June 2014, he signed a 2+1⁄2-year contract to return to the St. George Illawarra Dragons effective immediately.[7]
2015
editIn round 1 of the 2015 NRL season, O'Brien made his NRL debut for St. George against the Melbourne Storm.[8][9] On 26 August, he signed a 1-year contract with the Parramatta Eels starting in 2016, after being released from the final year of his Saints contract.[10]
2016
editIn round 14 of the 2016 season, O'Brien made his debut for Parramatta against the Gold Coast Titans.[11] In August, he re-signed with Parramatta on a contract until the end of the 2017 season.[12][13]
2017
editO'Brien played two games for Parramatta in the 2017 season. In the opening round against Manly and then the following week against St George. O'Brien spent the rest of the season playing for the Wentworthville Magpies in the Intrust Super Premiership NSW. On 29 November 2017, it was revealed that O'Brien's contract with Parramatta was not renewed and he was released by the club.[14][15][16]
References
edit- ^ "Rory O'Brien - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
- ^ "League teams for NRL finals". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^ Michael Carayannis (24 October 2013). "St George Illawarra's Rory O'Brien prepares for unlikely debut at 25". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^ "AAMI Country Players of the Year Announced - Country Rugby League of New South Wales". Crlnsw.com.au. 4 October 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^ "NSW Country outclass South African Rhino's - Match Report". Rugby League Planet. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^ Jennings, Mitch (26 June 2014). "Cutters to the rescue: Dragons sign prop Rory O'Brien". Illawarra Mercury. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^ "Sign Local Junior". Dragons. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^ "NRL 2015 - Round 1". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- ^ "Late Mail: Round 1 v Melbourne Storm". Dragons. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^ "Eels re-sign duo and sign prop | NRL". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- ^ "NRL 2016 - Round 14". Rugby League Project. 11 June 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
- ^ "Eels re-sign O'Brien until end of 2017". Zero Tackle. 30 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ^ "Home | Live Scores & Latest News". Fox Sports. 24 July 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
- ^ "NRL Market Watch: Panther's code switch consideration, Knights contract twist". 29 November 2017.
- ^ "Custom Match List - Rugby League Project".
- ^ "Wenty Magpies » Wenty Intrust Super Premiership NSW – Round 13 Team". wentymagpies.com.au. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017.