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Euan Aitken

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Euan Aitken
Personal information
Full nameEuan Aitken
Born (1995-06-16) 16 June 1995 (age 29)
Pambula, New South Wales, Australia
Height182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight96 kg (15 st 2 lb)
Playing information
PositionCentre, Second-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015–20 St. George Illawarra 121 39 0 0 156
2021–22 New Zealand Warriors 35 10 0 0 40
2023–24 Dolphins 37 6 0 0 24
2025– South Sydney 0 0 0 0 0
Total 193 55 0 0 220
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015 Prime Minister's XIII 1 1 0 0 4
2016 Country NSW 1 1 0 0 4
2016– Scotland 5 1 0 0 4
Source: [1][2]
As of 11 July 2024

Euan Aitken (born 16 June 1995) is a Scotland international rugby league footballer who plays as a second-rower or centre for the Dolphins in the NRL.

He previously played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League, and the Australian Prime Minister's XIII and Country New South Wales rugby league team at representative level.

Background

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Aitken was born in Pambula, New South Wales, Australia. He is of Scottish descent through his paternal grandfather,[3] Andrew, Latvian descent through his paternal grandmother, Regina, and Polish descent through his paternal grandmother's mother.[4][5][6]

He played his junior rugby league for the Merimbula-Pambula Bulldogs and Shellharbour Sharks. He was then signed by the St. George Illawarra Dragons.

Playing career

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Early career

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In 2013 and 2014, Aitken played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons' NYC team.[7][8] In September and October 2013, he played for the Australian Schoolboys.[9] On 28 April 2014, he was named to play for the New South Wales under-20s team to play Queensland,[10] but had to pull out due to injury.[11] On 18 October 2014, he played for the Junior Kangaroos against the Junior Kiwis.[12] At the end of 2014, he was named the Dragons' NYC Player of the Year.[11] In 2015, he moved on to the Dragons' New South Wales Cup team, Illawarra Cutters.[13]

St. George Illawarra (2015 - 2020)

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On 31 January and 1 February, Aitken played for the Dragons in the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines.[14] In Round 3 of the 2015 NRL season, he made his NRL début for the Dragons against the Canberra Raiders, playing at centre in the Dragons' 22–20 win at Canberra Stadium.[15][16] On 23 March, he re-signed with the Dragons on a two-year contract.[17][18] In Round 6 against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, he scored his first NRL career try in the Dragons' 31–6 win at ANZ Stadium.[19] He finished off his début year in the NRL having played in 23 matches and scoring six tries for the Dragons.[20] On 26 September, he played for the Prime Minister's XIII against Papua New Guinea, playing off the interchange bench and scoring a try in his team's 40-12 win at Port Moresby.[21][22]

In February 2016, Aitken played for the Dragons in the 2016 NRL Auckland Nines.[23] On 8 May, he played for New South Wales Country against New South Wales City, where he played at centre and scored a try.[24] In Round 10 against the Canberra Raiders, he scored a try off a wayward pass from Canberra Raiders fullback Jack Wighton, just on the halfway siren in golden-point extra-time to win the match for the Dragons 16–12.[25]

In 2017, Aitken was forced to miss Scotland's 2017 World Cup campaign due to injury.[26]

Aitken made 23 appearances during the 2018 season, and scored 10 tries for St George as the club finished 7th on the table at the end of the regular season. St George had led the competition after 16 rounds before losing 6 of their last 9 games which was reminiscent to their 2017 season. Aitken missed out on playing in the club's finals campaign which saw them upset the Brisbane Broncos in week one of the finals before being eliminated the following week by South Sydney 13-12.[27]

In Round 21 of the 2019 NRL season, Aitken made his 100th first grade appearance and scored a try as St George defeated the Gold Coast 40-28 at Kogarah Oval.[28]

On August 11, 2020, Aitken signed a three-year deal to join the New Zealand Warriors starting in 2021.[29]

New Zealand Warriors (2021 - 2022)

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Aitken made his debut for New Zealand in round 1 of the 2021 NRL season against the Gold Coast at Central Coast Stadium. In the same match, Aitken picked up an ankle injury and was ruled out for four months.[30]

In round 12 against North Queensland, Aitken scored two tries in a 29-28 defeat.[31] In round 20, he scored two tries for New Zealand in a 18-16 victory over the Wests Tigers.[32]

In March 2022, it was revealed that Aitken would be granted a release from his Warriors contract at the end of 2022, Aitken stating that he needs to remain living in Australia for family reasons. He later signed a two-year deal with the Dolphins, an upcoming club in 2023.[33] Aitken made a total of 21 appearances for the New Zealand club as they finished 15th on the table.[34]

Dolphins (2023 -2024)

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In round 1 of the 2023 NRL season, Aitken made his club debut for the Dolphins in their inaugural game in the national competition, as the new club pulled off a major upset defeating the Sydney Roosters 28-18 at Suncorp Stadium.[35] In round 7, he scored a try in the Dolphins 14-36 loss to the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Suncorp Stadium.[36] In round 8, Aitken scored a try in the Dolphins 28-26 victory over the Gold Coast Titans at Suncorp Stadium.|[37] In Round 9, Aitken scored a try in the Dolphins 30-31 loss to the Canberra Raiders at McDonalds Park, Wagga Wagga.[38]

In September, the Dolphins' Inaugural Presentation Ball was held at Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, and Aitken received the club's annual Academic Award for continued study in an MBA.[39]

In July 2024, Aitken was ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a pec injury in round 19.[40]

On 12 August 2024, it was announced that Aitken would depart the Dolphins at the end of the season and he had signed a three-year deal with the South Sydney Rabbitohs.[41]

Personal life

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Aitken got engaged to Kirsty Costello on May 1, 2022.[42] The couple got married in November 2022.[43] On September 26, 2023, Aitken and his wife had a daughter named Audrey Isla.[44]

Statistics

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Year Team Games Tries Pts
2014 St. George Illawarra Dragons 1 1 4
2015 23 6 24
2016 22 7 28
2017 12 6 24
2018 23 10 40
2019 24 6 24
2020 17 4 16
2021 New Zealand Warriors 14 7 28
2022 21 3 12
2023 Dolphins 21 4 16
2024 15 2 8
2025 South Sydney Rabbitohs
Totals 192 55 220

References

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  1. ^ "Euan Aitken - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  2. ^ "Euan Aitken". Love Rugby League. Archived from the original on 11 August 2019.
  3. ^ Brunsdon, Simon (16 March 2016). "St George Illawarra Dragons centre Euan Aitken aiming to represent Scotland at 2016 Four Nations". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 18 March 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  4. ^ Aitken, Euan (20 April 2018). "Goodbye Oma, I Love You". Players' Voice. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  5. ^ Meinhold, Regina (9 September 2004). "Regina Meinhold" (Audio recording). Interviewed by Bill Haskett; Diana Tapscott. Museum of Australian Democracy. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018. He was from Scotland. My first married name was Aitken. His name was Andrew Aitken.
  6. ^ "Regina Meinhold: Obituary". Canberra Times. 21 April 2018. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Euan Aitken". NYC Database. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  8. ^ Walter, Brad (21 November 2014). "St George Illawarra Dragons' Benji Marshall backs Russell Packer's comeback to the NRL". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 24 January 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  9. ^ "Aitken named in Australian side". Merimbula News Weekly. 25 July 2013. Archived from the original on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  10. ^ "NSW U20s Origin squad announced". Rugby League Week. 28 April 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  11. ^ a b St George Illawarra Dragons Year In Review 2014 (PDF) (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  12. ^ "Junior Kangaroos team named". NRL.com. 6 October 2014. Archived from the original on 1 January 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  13. ^ "NSW Cup Team List: Round 1". St George Illawarra Dragons. 3 March 2015. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  14. ^ "Dragons name 2015 Nines squad". Rugby League Week. 21 January 2015. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  15. ^ "Late Mail: Round 3 v Canberra Raiders". St. George Illawarra Dragons. 21 March 2015. Archived from the original on 23 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  16. ^ Tuxworth, Jon (21 March 2015). "Under siege Dragons stun Raiders after epic comeback in Canberra". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 7 October 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  17. ^ "Dragons re-sign Euan Aitken". Zero Tackle. 23 March 2015. Archived from the original on 26 December 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  18. ^ "Dragons Re-Sign Aitken". St George Illawarra Dragons. 23 March 2015. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  19. ^ Chammas, Michael (12 April 2015). "Benji Marshall magic leads ruthless St George Illawarra Dragons to convincing victory against the Canterbury Bulldogs". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  20. ^ "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. 24 October 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  21. ^ "Merrin to lead Prime Minister's XIII". NRL.com. 15 September 2015. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  22. ^ Decent, Tom (27 September 2015). "Australian Prime Minister's XIII beat Papua New Guinea 40–12 in Port Moresby". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  23. ^ "Dragons name 2016 Nines squad". Rugby League Week. 29 January 2016. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  24. ^ Webeck, Tony (8 May 2016). "Young City side stun Country". NRL.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  25. ^ Bossi, Dominic (12 May 2016). "St George Illawarra Dragons seal dramatic win over Canberra Raiders in the darkness". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  26. ^ Kennedy, Chris (18 December 2017). "Aitken goes to extreme measures to tackle injury curse". NRL.com. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018. However, he did reveal his disappointment and not being able to represent Scotland in what turned out to be something of an ill-fated World Cup campaign for an injury-ravaged squad missing close to a full Test line-up in NRL and Super League talent.
  27. ^ Newton, Alicia (26 October 2018). "St George Illawarra Dragons 2018 season review". NRL.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  28. ^ McKirdy, Lachlan (10 August 2019). "Dragons vs Titans: Gold Coast Titans defence slammed as 'too easy for first grade'". Sporting News. Archived from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  29. ^ Walsh, Dan (12 August 2020). "Dogs defy Warriors for Elliott coup after Evans, Aitken sign on". NRL.com. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  30. ^ "New Zealand Warriors recruit Euan Aitken ruled out for up to four months with ankle injury". www.sportingnews.com. 15 August 2021.
  31. ^ "The greatest field goal of all time? Fans gush over Valentine Holmes' matchwinner in Cowboys - Warriors thriller". www.sportingnews.com. 15 August 2021.
  32. ^ "Brisbane Broncos beat North Queensland Cowboys 37-18, Warriors defeat Wests Tigers 18-16 in NRL double header". ABC News. 30 July 2021.
  33. ^ reporters, Stuff sports (24 March 2022). "Warriors lose star player Euan Aitken for 2023 NRL season". Stuff.
  34. ^ "Warriors farewell 15 players after return to New Zealand". www.foxsports.com.au. 6 September 2022.
  35. ^ "'I don't want to take the gloss off... but': Kenty's warning for Dolphins after historic first-up win". www.foxsports.com.au. 6 March 2023.
  36. ^ "Dolphins v Rabbitohs".
  37. ^ "Dolphins v Titans".
  38. ^ "Raiders v Dolphins".
  39. ^ "Emotional Isaako sweeps Dolphins awards". 7 September 2023.
  40. ^ "Injury Update: Aitken suffers pec injury; Nikorima comes off late". The Dolphins. 11 July 2024. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  41. ^ "Rabbitohs sign Euan Aitken until the end of Season 2027 – South Sydney Rabbitohs". Site Name, i.e. Moz. 13 August 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  42. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  43. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  44. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
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