Chris Smith (rugby league, born 1994)

This article is about the Australian rugby league player for Penrith, Sydney Roosters & Canterbury. For the Wales international rugby league player for Castleford, St Helens, Hull FC & York, see Chris Smith (rugby league, born 1975).

Chris Smith (born 16 January 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward and lock for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL.

Chris Smith

Personal information
Full name	Christopher Smith
Born	(1994-01-16) 16 January 1994 (age 29) Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Height	185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	104 kg (16 st 5 lb)
Playing information
Position	Second-row, Lock
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2015 Penrith Panthers 1 0 0 0 0 2016–17 Sydney Roosters 2 0 0 0 0 2018–21 Canterbury Bulldogs 30 2 0 0 8 2022– Penrith Panthers 6 1 0 0 4 Total 39 3 0 0 12 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2017– Indigenous All Stars 4 0 0 0 0
Source: ^[1]^[2] As of 3 June 2022

He previously played for the Sydney Roosters and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League, and the Indigenous All Stars at representative level.

Background

Smith was born in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

He played his junior rugby league for the Nightcliff Dragons in the Darwin Rugby League and attended Casuarina High School, before being signed to a contract by the North Queensland Cowboys at age 15.^[3] At 17 years of age, he signed with the Penrith Panthers, moving to Sydney and attending Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown.^[4][5][6]

Playing career

Early career

From 2012 to 2014, Smith played for the Penrith Panthers' NYC team.^[7] In August 2012, he played for the Australian Schoolboys.^[8]

2015

In 2015, Smith graduated to the Penrith New South Wales Cup team.^[9]

 

Smith playing for the Panthers in 2015

In Round 26 of the 2015 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for Penrith against the Newcastle Knights.^[10][11]

2016

On 6 April, Smith was released from his Penrith contract to join the Sydney Roosters effective immediately, on a contract to the end of 2017.^[12]

2017

Smith made only one first grade appearance for the Sydney Roosters in the 2017 NRL season which came against Canberra in round 12 and ended in a 16-24 loss.^[13]

2018

At the end of 2017, Smith signed a contract with Canterbury-Bankstown. Smith made only one appearance for Canterbury in the 2018 NRL season which came against Brisbane in round 21 and ended in a 36-22 victory at ANZ Stadium. Smith spent most of the year playing with Canterbury's reserve grade team. Smith played in the club's Intrust Super Premiership NSW grand final victory over Newtown at Leichhardt Oval. The following week, Smith played in Canterbury's NRL State Championship side which defeated Redcliffe 42-18 at ANZ Stadium.^[14][15]

2019

Smith made a total of 20 appearances for Canterbury in the 2019 NRL season as the club finished 12th on the table. Smith only missed 5 matches all season and cemented himself in the first grade squad.^[16][17] On 22 November 2019, Smith signed a two-year contract extension to stay at Canterbury until the end of the 2021 season.^[18]

2020

In February, Smith was ruled out for the first three months of the 2020 NRL season after suffering a torn MCL and a partial ACL tear during the pre-season Indigenous All Stars game.^[19]

2021

On 31 August, Smith was one of twelve players who were told by Canterbury that they would not be offered a contract for the 2022 season and would be released at seasons end.^[20] In November, Smith signed a contract to return to the Penrith Panthers for the 2022 season.^[21]

2022

Smith played six games for Penrith in the 2022 NRL season. Smith played most of the year with the clubs NSW Cup team. On 25 September, Smith played for Penrith in the clubs NSW Cup Grand Final victory over Canterbury.^[22][23] On 2 October, Smith played in Penrith's 44-10 victory over Norths Devils in the NRL State Championship final.^[24]

References

1. "Chris Smith - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 16 January 1994. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
2. . Rugby League Project. Archived from the original on 8 December 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
3. "Cowboys Sign Nt Junior Talent". Leagueoftitans.com.au. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
4. "GIO Schoolboys Cup: Patrician Brothers defeat Farrer". NRL.com. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
5. "2012 - England Academy - Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League - SportsTG". Websites.sportstg.com. 17 November 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
6. Wake, Rebekka (3 September 2015). "Nightcliff Dragon to make debut with Penrith Panthers". NT News. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
7. "S". Nyc Database. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
8. "2012 Australian Team Announced – Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". Fox Sports Pulse. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
9. "Round 9 Team List – Panthers". Penrithpanthers.com.au. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
10. "Updated: Round 26 NRL team lists". NRL.com. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
11. "NRL 2015 - Round 26". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
12. "Panthers release Chris Smith". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
13. "NRL 2017 Round 12". Rugby League Project.
14. "Canterbury Bulldogs beat Newtown Jets to win 2018 Intrust Super Premiership grand final". Fox Sports.
15. "Bulldogs down Dolphins to win Intrust Super Championship". NRL.
16. "Spoons of wood, high hopes and chances lost... the final round storylines". Brisbane Times.
17. "The Dean Pay way: 'Unashamedly' old school". NRL.
18. "Chris Smith signs new deal with Canterbury Bulldogs". Love Rugby League.
19. "'Don't pay overs': Paul Gallen hits back at Dean Pay over Kieran Foran salary cap relief". www.foxsports.com.au.
20. "Bulldogs show Origin star the door as Gus puts broom through Belmore". www.foxsports.com.au.
21. "Smith signs Panthers deal". www.penrithpanthers.com.au.
22. "NSW Cup Grand Final 2022". www.nswrl.com.
23. "Penrith Panthers' back-to-back NRL premierships the culmination of grand final victories across all grades". www.abc.net.au.
24. "Sunia sizzles as Panthers down Devils in State Championship". www.nrl.com.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chris Smith (rugby league, born 1994).

• Canterbury Bulldogs profile
• NRL profile