Connor Watson
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia | 31 May 1996|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 177 cm (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 89 kg (14 st 0 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Lock, Hooker, Five-eighth, Fullback[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [2] As of 18 May 2024 |
Connor Watson (born 31 May 1996) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a lock, hooker and five-eighth for the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League (NRL).
He previously played for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL, and played for the Country Origin side.
Early life[edit]
Watson was born in Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia and is of Indigenous Australian descent.[3] At the age of five,[4] he moved to Avoca Beach.
He played his junior rugby league for the Terrigal Sharks and Kincumber Colts, before gaining a scholarship at Knox Grammar School and playing rugby union.[4] While playing rugby union, he spent part of his time playing rugby league with the South Eastern Seagulls.[4] He was then signed by the Sydney Roosters.
Playing career[edit]
Early career[edit]
In 2015 and 2016, Watson played for the Sydney Roosters' NYC team.[5][6] In July 2015, he re-signed with the Sydney Roosters on a two-year contract.[7]
2016[edit]
In round 7 of the 2016 NRL season, Watson made his NRL debut for the Sydney Roosters against the Penrith Panthers.[8][9] In round 13 against the Wests Tigers, he scored his first NRL try.[10] In December, he extended his Roosters contract from the end of 2017 until the end of 2018.[11]
2017[edit]
At the 2017 NRL Auckland Nines in February, Watson was named player of the tournament after the Roosters won the final.[12] On 7 May, Watson played for Country Origin against City Origin off the interchange bench in the 20–10 loss in Mudgee.[13] On 24 July, he signed a 3-year contract with the Newcastle Knights starting in 2018, after seeking a release from the final year of his Sydney Roosters contract.[14]
2018[edit]
In round 1 of the 2018 season, Watson made his debut for Newcastle in their 19-18 golden point extra-time win over the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.[15] In round 2 against the Canberra Raiders, Watson scored his first try for the Newcastle club in their 30–28 win at Canberra Stadium.[16]
2020[edit]
After suffering a number of ankle problems during Newcastle's 2020 NRL season, Watson suffered a ruptured achilles playing against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the Round 11, 18–12 loss, ending his season.[17]
2021[edit]
After playing over 60 games for the Newcastle club, Watson chose to knock back a contract extension and instead signed a two-year contract to return to the Sydney Roosters in 2022.[18][19][20]
2022[edit]
Watson played a total of 21 games for the Sydney Roosters in the 2022 NRL season including the clubs elimination final loss to South Sydney.[21]
2023[edit]
Watson was ruled out for the 2023 NRL season due to suffering a patellar tendon injury during Roosters training.[22]
Statistics[edit]
Year | Team | Games | Tries | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Sydney Roosters | 16 | 5 | 20 |
2017 | 22 | 4 | 16 | |
2018 | Newcastle Knights | 15 | 7 | 28 |
2019 | 21 | 4 | 16 | |
2020 | 5 | 1 | 4 | |
2021 | 25 | 2 | 8 | |
2022 | Sydney Roosters | 21 | 3 | 12 |
2023 | 0 | |||
Totals | 125 | 26 | 104 |
References[edit]
- ^ NRL Digital Media. "Connor Watson". Roosters. Archived from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
- ^ "Connor Watson - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
- ^ NRL. "Connor Watson". Roosters. Archived from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- ^ a b c "Connor Watson a star on the rise". NRL.com. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
- ^ "W". Nyc Database. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- ^ NRL. "NYC Team Talk | Round 1". Roosters. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- ^ Published by Rocco Luca (18 July 2015). "Roosters Find Next Wing". Rugby League Week. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- ^ "Updated team lists: Roosters v Panthers". NRL.com. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- ^ NRL. "NRL Late Mail | Round 7". Roosters. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- ^ "Roosters down Tigers in big wet". NRL.com. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ Roosters.com.au (5 June 2016). "Connor Watson extends with Roosters". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ "Connor Watson stars as Roosters roar to 2017 Auckland Nines success". Heraldsun.com.au. 5 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
- ^ "City down Country 20-10 in final version of annual rugby league fixture". www.couriermail.com.au.
- ^ "Connor Watson to join Knights". Zero Tackle. 24 July 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- ^ "Late mail: Knights v Manly". 9 March 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- ^ "Mitchell Pearce, Kalyn Ponga lead Newcastle Knights to 30-28 win over Canberra Raiders". www.dailytelegraph.com.au.
- ^ "Watson, McCullough out for season as O'Brien blasts 'entitled' Knights". NRL.com.
- ^ "Connor Watson to Return to Roosters in 2022". Sydney Roosters. 17 August 2021.
- ^ "Watson to reunite with Roosters in 2022". au.finance.yahoo.com.
- ^ "'Like hugging a corpse': Coach reveals cost of star's exit, lashes 'ill-informed' rumours". www.foxsports.com.au.
- ^ "Robbo switch that woke sleeping giant as full extent of cap crunch laid bare: Brutal Review". www.foxsports.com.au.
- ^ https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/news-2023-connor-watson-injured-sydney-roosters-training-session/3bb8047f-78d4-4663-a1ea-6c7d45cd12f5
External links[edit]
- 1996 births
- Australian rugby league players
- Indigenous Australian rugby league players
- Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players
- Newcastle Knights players
- Sydney Roosters players
- Junior Kangaroos players
- Rugby league five-eighths
- Rugby league fullbacks
- Rugby league hookers
- Rugby league locks
- Living people
- People educated at Knox Grammar School
- Rugby league players from Dubbo
- Rugby league players from Gosford, New South Wales