Justin O'Neill

Justin O'Neill
Personal information
Nickname Juzzy[1][2]
Born (1991-04-04) 4 April 1991
Warwick, Queensland, Australia
Height 190 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight 92 kg (14 st 7 lb)
Playing information
Position Centre, Wing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2010–14 Melbourne Storm 67 34 0 0 136
2015– North Queensland 51 26 0 0 104
Total 118 60 0 0 240
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2013 NRL All Stars 1 0 0 0 0
2016 Queensland 3 0 0 0 0
2016 Australia 2 0 0 0 0
As of 9 November 2016
Source: [3] NRL Stats

Justin O'Neill (born 4 April 1991) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League. He primarily plays as a centre or a winger. O'Neill previously played for the Melbourne Storm, and is a two-time premiership winner; with the Storm in 2012 and the Cowboys in 2015.

Background

Born in Warwick, Queensland, O'Neill is of Ni-Vanuatu descent through his mother. He attended The Cathedral School in Townsville, Queensland[4] and played his junior football for the Hughenden Hawks and Townsville Brothers, before being signed by the Melbourne Storm. As a child, O'Neill held the Australian under-15 long jump record with a mark of 7.60m.[5] In November 2008, O'Neill played for the Australian Institute of Sport rugby league team that toured France and the United Kingdom.[6] In 2009, he was selected for the Queensland under-18 team.

Playing career

Melbourne Storm

O'Neill playing for the combined Sharks-Storm team in the NSW Cup in 2014

In September 2007, O'Neill re-signed with the Storm on a 2-year contract.[7] He was a member of the Storm's S. G. Ball Cup team in early 2009,[4] before moving into their NYC team until 2010.[8][9] On 4 October 2009, O'Neill scored a try in the Storm's 2009 NYC Grand Final win over the Wests Tigers.[10]

O'Neill made his NRL debut for the Storm on 14 June 2010 against the Sydney Roosters. He scored a hat-trick of tries against the North Queensland Cowboys in round 15. On 7 May 2012, O'Neill re-signed with the Storm on a 2-year contract.[11] He scored a try in the Storm's 2012 NRL Grand Final win over the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs on 30 September.[12] On 22 February 2013, he played in the Storm's 2013 World Club Challenge win over the Leeds Rhinos.[13] O'Neill re-signed with the Storm on a 3-year contract on 14 June 2013.[14]

On 20 December 2014, O'Neill signed with the North Queensland Cowboys on a 2-year after being released by the Storm.[15]

North Queensland Cowboys

O'Neill made his club debut for the Cowboys in round 1 of the 2015 NRL season against the Sydney Roosters, scoring a try. On 4 October 2015, O'Neill was a member of the Cowboys' Grand Final winning side. He scored a try in his side's 17-16 victory over the Brisbane Broncos. On 21 February 2016, he was a member of the Cowboys' 2016 World Club Challenge winning side against the Leeds Rhinos at Headingley Stadium.[16] On 1 July 2016, O'Neill re-signed with the Cowboys for a further 2 years, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2018 season.[17]

Representative career

In October 2010, O'Neill was selected for the Junior Kangaroos in their two-match series against the Junior Kiwis.[18] He scored a try in both matches.

In September 2012, O'Neill was named in Vanuatu's train-on squad for their match against Greece on 20 October 2012.[19][5] O'Neill did not play in the match,[20] though some sources indicate that he did.[21][22] He was a trainer for Vanuatu in their match against the Solomon Islands on October 2013.[20]

In February 2013, O'Neill played for the NRL All Stars in the 2013 All Stars match.[23]

O'Neill made his debut for Queensland in the 2016 State of Origin,[2] playing at centre in all 3 of their matches. He had previously been a member of Queensland's Emerging Origin after being first selected in 2012,[24] and was named as a reserve for Queensland in 2013.[21][22][25]

On 4 October 2016, O'Neill was selected in Australia's Four Nations squad.[26] He made his debut in Australia's Round 2 against Scotland where his nation was successful in a 40-point victory. O'Neill retained his spot at Centre in the Round 3 victory against New Zealand where he ran for a game high 203 metres. He would go on to have a try disallowed during the 14-8 win for Australia. He was named 19th man for the final round of the tournament against England.

Achievements and accolades

Individual

North Queensland Cowboys Most Improved: 2015

Team

2012 NRL Grand Final: Melbourne Storm – Winners
2013 World Club Challenge: Melbourne Storm – Winners
2015 NRL Grand Final: North Queensland Cowboys – Winners
2016 World Club Challenge: North Queensland Cowboys – Winners

Statistics

NRL

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2016 season
† Denotes seasons in which O'Neill won an NRL Premiership
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2010 Melbourne 9 9 0 — 0 36
2011 Melbourne 12 5 0 — 0 20
2012† Melbourne 21 11 0 — 0 44
2013 Melbourne 21 9 0 — 0 36
2014 Melbourne 4 0 0 — 0 0
2015† North Queensland 26 13 0 — 0 52
2016 North Queensland 25 13 0 — 0 52
Career totals 118 60 0 — 0 240

State of Origin

Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2016 Queensland 3 0 0 — 0 0
Career totals 3 0 0 — 0 0

Personal life

O'Neill's younger brother, Samsen, played for the Cowboys' NYC side and currently plays for the Townsville Blackhawks.[27] His older brother, Paul, has represented Vanuatu.[20] O'Neill married model and TV personality Chantelle Raleigh in Victoria on 9 January 2016.[28]

References

  1. ↑ Mascord, Steve (12 September 2013). "South Sydney braces for air raid". The Age.
  2. 1 2 Badel, Peter (26 May 2016). "Maroons rookie Justin O'Neill avoids Queensland's Emerging Origin drama to secure debut". Courier-Mail. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  3. ↑ "Justin O'Neill". Rugby League Project.
  4. 1 2 Tsialis, Maria (6 July 2012). "Full throttle for Storm speedster O'Neill". NRL.com. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  5. 1 2 Garry, Chris (29 September 2012). "Melbourne Storm flyer Justin O'Neill always wanted to play for the Cowboys". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  6. ↑ "THE BOYS HEAD OF TO ENGLAND TODAY". Ourfootyteam.com. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  7. ↑ Watkin, Adam (12 September 2007). "O'NEILL'S REAL DEAL". Ourfootyteam.com. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  8. ↑ "LATEST TOYOTA CUP NEWS 2008". Ourfootyteam.com. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  9. ↑ Russell, Matt (24 March 2010). "Fox Sports' Matt Russell previews round three of the Toyota Cup". Fox Sports.
  10. ↑ Beniuk, David (4 October 2009). "Melbourne Storm defeat Wests Tigers 24-22 to win 2009 Toyota Cup". Fox Sports.
  11. ↑ "Storm continue to retain young talent". Zero Tackle. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  12. ↑ "Melbourne Storm beat Canterbury Bulldogs in 2012 NRL grand final". news.com.au. 30 September 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  13. ↑ Wilson, Andy (23 February 2013). "Melbourne Storm hold off Leeds to claim World Club Challenge crown". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  14. ↑ "Storm re-sign O'Neill and Waqa". Zero Tackle. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  15. ↑ "O'Neill to return to the north". Cowboys.com.au. 20 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  16. ↑ "North Queensland Cowboys thump Leeds in World Club Challenge, James Tamou punched by Mitch Garbutt". ABC. 22 February 2016.
  17. ↑ "Cowboys Get A Huge Boost As They Try To Secure Back-To-Back Premierships". Triple M. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  18. ↑ "Junior Kangaroos team named". NRL.com. 5 October 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  19. ↑ "Vanatu Train on Squad". Rugbyleagueinternationalscores.com. 8 September 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  20. 1 2 3 Richards, Eden (10 July 2016). "Rapid rise for new Maroon O'Neill". NRL.com. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  21. 1 2 Heming, Wayne (26 May 2013). "Justin O'Neill on standby to make his Origin debut for Queensland after Darius Boyd suffers injury". Fox Sports.
  22. 1 2 "State of Origin: Queensland may need to re-vamp its squad ahead of opening match". ABC. 27 May 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  23. ↑ "O'Neill receives call up after Slater ruled out of All Stars". Sunshine Coast Daily. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  24. ↑ "Four new faces in the QAS Emerging Origin rugby league squad". Courier-Mail. 15 December 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  25. ↑ Webeck, Tony (3 February 2016). "O'Neill's Maroons call-up a 'privilege'". NRL.com. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  26. ↑ Kennedy, Chris (4 October 2016). "Seven new faces in Kangaroos squad". NRL.com.
  27. ↑ Thompson, Michael (19 September 2015). "Justin and Samsen O'Neill playing for family glory". Townsville Bulletin. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  28. ↑ Riley, Rachel (12 January 2016). "Cowboys centre weds TV personality". Townsville Bulletin.

External links

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