Chris Smith (rugby league, born 1994)

Chris Smith (born 16 January 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward and lock for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL.

Chris Smith
Personal information
Full nameChristopher Smith
Born (1994-01-16) 16 January 1994 (age 30)
Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Height185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight104 kg (16 st 5 lb)
Playing information
PositionSecond-row, Lock
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015 Penrith Panthers 1 0 0 0 0
2016–17 Sydney Roosters 2 0 0 0 0
2018–21 Canterbury Bulldogs 30 2 0 0 8
2022–23 Penrith Panthers 6 1 0 0 4
Total 39 3 0 0 12
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2017– Indigenous All Stars 4 0 0 0 0
Source: [1][2]
As of 3 June 2022

He previously played for the Sydney Roosters and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League, and the Indigenous All Stars at representative level.

Background edit

Smith was born in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

He played his junior rugby league for the Nightcliff Dragons in the Darwin Rugby League and attended Casuarina High School, before being signed to a contract by the North Queensland Cowboys at age 15.[3] At 17 years of age, he signed with the Penrith Panthers, moving to Sydney and attending Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown.[4][5][6]

Playing career edit

Early career edit

From 2012 to 2014, Smith played for the Penrith Panthers' NYC team.[7] In August 2012, he played for the Australian Schoolboys.[8]

2015 edit

In 2015, Smith graduated to the Penrith New South Wales Cup team.[9]

 
Smith playing for the Panthers in 2015

In Round 26 of the 2015 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for Penrith against the Newcastle Knights.[10][11]

2016 edit

On 6 April, Smith was released from his Penrith contract to join the Sydney Roosters effective immediately, on a contract to the end of 2017.[12]

2017 edit

Smith made only one first grade appearance for the Sydney Roosters in the 2017 NRL season which came against Canberra in round 12 and ended in a 16-24 loss.[13]

2018 edit

At the end of 2017, Smith signed a contract with Canterbury-Bankstown. Smith made only one appearance for Canterbury in the 2018 NRL season which came against Brisbane in round 21 and ended in a 36-22 victory at ANZ Stadium. Smith spent most of the year playing with Canterbury's reserve grade team. Smith played in the club's Intrust Super Premiership NSW grand final victory over Newtown at Leichhardt Oval. The following week, Smith played in Canterbury's NRL State Championship side which defeated Redcliffe 42-18 at ANZ Stadium.[14][15]

2019 edit

Smith made a total of 20 appearances for Canterbury in the 2019 NRL season as the club finished 12th on the table. Smith only missed 5 matches all season and cemented himself in the first grade squad.[16][17] On 22 November 2019, Smith signed a two-year contract extension to stay at Canterbury until the end of the 2021 season.[18]

2020 edit

In February, Smith was ruled out for the first three months of the 2020 NRL season after suffering a torn MCL and a partial ACL tear during the pre-season Indigenous All Stars game.[19]

2021 edit

On 31 August, Smith 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 seasons end.[20] In November, Smith signed a contract to return to the Penrith Panthers for the 2022 season.[21]

2022 edit

Smith played six games for Penrith in the 2022 NRL season. Smith played most of the year with the clubs NSW Cup team. On 25 September, Smith played for Penrith in the clubs NSW Cup Grand Final victory over Canterbury.[22][23] On 2 October, Smith played in Penrith's 44-10 victory over Norths Devils in the NRL State Championship final.[24]

References edit

  1. ^ "Chris Smith - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 16 January 1994. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  2. ^ "Christopher Smith - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Archived from the original on 8 December 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Cowboys Sign Nt Junior Talent". Leagueoftitans.com.au. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  4. ^ "GIO Schoolboys Cup: Patrician Brothers defeat Farrer". NRL.com. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  5. ^ "2012 - England Academy - Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". SportsTG. 17 November 2013. Archived from the original on 23 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  6. ^ Wake, Rebekka (3 September 2015). "Nightcliff Dragon to make debut with Penrith Panthers". NT News. Retrieved 5 September 2015.[dead link]
  7. ^ "S". Nyc Database. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  8. ^ "2012 Australian Team Announced – Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". Fox Sports Pulse. 2012. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  9. ^ "Round 9 Team List". Penrith Panthers. 5 May 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  10. ^ "Updated: Round 26 NRL team lists". NRL.com. 6 September 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  11. ^ "NRL 2015 - Round 26 - Penrith Panthers 30 def. Newcastle Knights 12". Rugby League Project. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  12. ^ "Panthers release Chris Smith". Zero Tackle. 6 April 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  13. ^ "NRL 2017 - Round 12 - Canberra Raiders 24 def. Sydney Roosters 16". Rugby League Project. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023.
  14. ^ "Canterbury Bulldogs beat Newtown Jets to win 2018 Intrust Super Premiership grand final". Fox Sports. 23 September 2018. Archived from the original on 22 May 2023.
  15. ^ Kennedy, Chris (30 September 2018). "Bulldogs down Dolphins to win Intrust Super Championship". NRL. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023.
  16. ^ Lutton, Phil (5 September 2019). "Spoons of wood, high hopes and chances lost... the final round storylines". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023.
  17. ^ McDonald, Margie (1 September 2019). "The Dean Pay way: 'Unashamedly' old school". NRL. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023.
  18. ^ Darbyshire, Drew (22 November 2019). "Chris Smith signs new deal with Canterbury Bulldogs". Love Rugby League. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019.
  19. ^ "'Don't pay overs': Paul Gallen hits back at Dean Pay over Kieran Foran salary cap relief". Fox Sports. 26 February 2020. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023.
  20. ^ McDonald, Darcie (31 August 2021). "Bulldogs show Origin star the door as Gus puts broom through Belmore". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 31 August 2021.
  21. ^ "Smith signs Panthers deal". Penrith Panthers. 22 November 2021. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023.
  22. ^ "Panthers v Bulldogs - Grand Final, 2022". NSWRL. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  23. ^ Healy, Jon (2 October 2022). "Penrith Panthers' back-to-back NRL premierships the culmination of grand final victories across all grades". ABC News. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022.
  24. ^ "Sunia sizzles as Panthers down Devils in State Championship". www.nrl.com.

External links edit