Connor Watson

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Connor Watson
Personal information
Born (1996-05-31) 31 May 1996 (age 27)
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 29 5 0 0 20
Total 133 28 0 0 112
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2017 Country NSW 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [2]
As of 12 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]

  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. ^ "W". Nyc Database. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  6. ^ NRL. "NYC Team Talk | Round 1". Roosters. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  7. ^ Published by Rocco Luca (18 July 2015). "Roosters Find Next Wing". Rugby League Week. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  8. ^ "Updated team lists: Roosters v Panthers". NRL.com. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  9. ^ NRL. "NRL Late Mail | Round 7". Roosters. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  10. ^ "Roosters down Tigers in big wet". NRL.com. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  11. ^ Roosters.com.au (5 June 2016). "Connor Watson extends with Roosters". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  12. ^ "Connor Watson stars as Roosters roar to 2017 Auckland Nines success". Heraldsun.com.au. 5 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  13. ^ "City down Country 20-10 in final version of annual rugby league fixture". www.couriermail.com.au.
  14. ^ "Connor Watson to join Knights". Zero Tackle. 24 July 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  15. ^ "Late mail: Knights v Manly". 9 March 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  16. ^ "Mitchell Pearce, Kalyn Ponga lead Newcastle Knights to 30-28 win over Canberra Raiders". www.dailytelegraph.com.au.
  17. ^ "Watson, McCullough out for season as O'Brien blasts 'entitled' Knights". NRL.com.
  18. ^ "Connor Watson to Return to Roosters in 2022". Sydney Roosters. 17 August 2021.
  19. ^ "Watson to reunite with Roosters in 2022". au.finance.yahoo.com.
  20. ^ "'Like hugging a corpse': Coach reveals cost of star's exit, lashes 'ill-informed' rumours". www.foxsports.com.au.
  21. ^ "Robbo switch that woke sleeping giant as full extent of cap crunch laid bare: Brutal Review". www.foxsports.com.au.
  22. ^ https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/news-2023-connor-watson-injured-sydney-roosters-training-session/3bb8047f-78d4-4663-a1ea-6c7d45cd12f5

External links[edit]