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Connor Watson
Personal information
Born (1996-05-31) 31 May 1996 (age 28)
Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia
Height177 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight89 kg (14 st 0 lb)
Playing information
PositionLock, Hooker, Five-eighth, Fullback[1]
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2016–17 Sydney Roosters 38 9 0 0 36
2018–21 Newcastle Knights 66 14 0 0 56
2022– Sydney Roosters 42 5 0 0 20
Total 146 28 0 0 112
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2017 Country NSW 1 0 0 0 0
2024 New South Wales 2 0 0 0 0
Source: [2]
As of 27 September 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

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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 an Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF) scholarship at Knox Grammar School and playing rugby union.[4] In an interview on the Marlee & Me podcast, Connor described being an AIEF Scholarship Student as "so good...[AIEF] do such a terrific job".[5] 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

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Early career

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In 2015 and 2016, Watson played for the Sydney Roosters' NYC team.[6][7] In July 2015, he re-signed with the Sydney Roosters on a two-year contract.[8]

2016

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In round 7 of the 2016 NRL season, Watson made his NRL debut for the Sydney Roosters against the Penrith Panthers.[9][10] In round 13 against the Wests Tigers, he scored his first NRL try.[11] In December, he extended his Roosters contract from the end of 2017 until the end of 2018.[12]

2017

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At the 2017 NRL Auckland Nines in February, Watson was named player of the tournament after the Roosters won the final.[13] On 7 May, Watson played for Country Origin against City Origin off the interchange bench in the 20–10 loss in Mudgee.[14] 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.[15]

2018

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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.[16] In round 2 against the Canberra Raiders, Watson scored his first try for the Newcastle club in their 30–28 win at Canberra Stadium.[17]

2020

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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.[18]

2021

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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.[19][20][21]

2022

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Watson played a total of 21 games for the Sydney Roosters in the 2022 NRL season including the club’s elimination final loss to South Sydney.[22]

2023

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Watson was ruled out for the 2023 NRL season due to suffering a patella tendon injury during Roosters training.[23]

2024

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On 16 June, Watson was selected by New South Wales for game two of the 2024 State of Origin series.[24] Watson played in both games two and three of the series as New South Wales won the shield 2-1.[25] Watson played 21 matches for the Sydney Roosters in the 2024 NRL season as they finished third on the table. Watson played in all three finals matches for the club including their preliminary final loss against Melbourne.[26]

Statistics

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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
2024 21 2 8
Totals 146 28 112

References

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  1. ^ NRL Digital Media. "Connor Watson". Roosters. Archived from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  2. ^ "Connor Watson - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  3. ^ NRL. "Connor Watson". Roosters. Archived from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  4. ^ a b c "Connor Watson a star on the rise". NRL.com. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  5. ^ "Connor Watson dives into life outside of Footy: Marlee and Me - Ep 4 | NRL on Nine". YouTube. 22 September 2024.
  6. ^ "W". Nyc Database. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  7. ^ NRL (March 2016). "NYC Team Talk | Round 1". Roosters. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  8. ^ Published by Rocco Luca (18 July 2015). "Roosters Find Next Wing". Rugby League Week. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  9. ^ "Updated team lists: Roosters v Panthers". NRL.com. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  10. ^ NRL. "NRL Late Mail | Round 7". Roosters. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  11. ^ "Roosters down Tigers in big wet". NRL.com. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  12. ^ Roosters.com.au (5 June 2016). "Connor Watson extends with Roosters". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  13. ^ "Connor Watson stars as Roosters roar to 2017 Auckland Nines success". Heraldsun.com.au. 5 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  14. ^ "City down Country 20-10 in final version of annual rugby league fixture". www.couriermail.com.au.
  15. ^ "Connor Watson to join Knights". Zero Tackle. 24 July 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  16. ^ "Late mail: Knights v Manly". 9 March 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  17. ^ "Mitchell Pearce, Kalyn Ponga lead Newcastle Knights to 30-28 win over Canberra Raiders". www.dailytelegraph.com.au.
  18. ^ "Watson, McCullough out for season as O'Brien blasts 'entitled' Knights". NRL.com. 26 July 2020.
  19. ^ "Connor Watson to Return to Roosters in 2022". Sydney Roosters. 17 August 2021.
  20. ^ "Watson to reunite with Roosters in 2022". au.finance.yahoo.com.
  21. ^ "'Like hugging a corpse': Coach reveals cost of star's exit, lashes 'ill-informed' rumours". www.foxsports.com.au. 19 August 2021.
  22. ^ "Robbo switch that woke sleeping giant as full extent of cap crunch laid bare: Brutal Review". www.foxsports.com.au. 12 September 2022.
  23. ^ "Roosters star suffers horror blow in training". 6 January 2023.
  24. ^ "Maroons pick Walsh as Mitchell gets Blues recall". The Guardian. 16 June 2024.
  25. ^ "Eels' worst fears; image Kevvie won't want to see in Broncos' brutal Origin blow — Late Mail". www.foxsports.com.au. 21 July 2024.
  26. ^ "The Mole's end of season review: Maligned signing suddenly looms as Roosters saviour after exodus, injuries". www.nine.com.au. 30 September 2024.
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