Ben Ikin

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Benjamin Ikin
Image:BenIkin.jpg
Personal information
Full name Ben Ikin
Date of birth 21 February 1977 (1977-02-21) (age 31)
Height 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 90 kg (14 st 2 lb)
Youth clubs
Years Club
Tugun
Senior clubs*
Years Club Apps (points)
1995
1996–1999
2000–2004		 Gold Coast
North Sydney
Brisbane		 8 (2)
87 (148)
55 (76)
Representative teams
1995–2003
1998		 Queensland
Australia		 17 (12)
2 (0)

* Professional club appearances and points
counted for domestic first grade only.

Benjamin Ikin (born 21 February 1977) is an Australian former professional rugby league player. He previously played for the Gold Coast Chargers, North Sydney Bears and Brisbane Broncos as well as representing Queensland Maroons and Australia.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Playing career

As a Gold Coast junior and promising centre and five-eighth, Ben Ikin became the youngest player in State of Origin history when he was chosen as a replacement back for the Maroons during the troubled 1995 season at age 18. He did not disappoint when he got his chance, with the underdog Queensland team winning the series 3-0.

Ikin's debut season ended prematurely when he was injured and he signed with the North Sydney Bears in 1996. While he was not required for the 1996 State of Origin series, his efforts with the Maroons in 1997–1998 marked him as a Test player of the future. At the end of 1998, Ikin went someway toward fulfilling that potential when he was chosen as a reserve in the final two Tests against New Zealand in September, making him currently the last international to be selected from the North Sydney club. He then tried to gain a release from his contract to play with premiers the Brisbane Broncos in 1999, but his request was refused. Reluctantly playing with the Bears, he suffered a broken jaw in an off-field incident that kept him sidelined for eight weeks.

Ikin finally got the chance to link with Brisbane when the Bears were forced into a Joint Venture with Manly in 2000, and he finished his first season with the Broncos playing five-eighth in the club’s grand final win over the Roosters. It was later revealed that he played the latter part of the season with a shoulder injury that required surgery during the 2000 off-season. In 2000 Ikin was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league.

A mainstay of the Queensland State of Origin team, a further knee injury limited him to just 6 matches in 2001 and ruined any chance of extending his Test record. Ikin made a successful comeback from his injury, even returning to State of Origin duty, but he had lost a lot of his speed and decided to stand down from the Broncos’ elite squad at the end of 2003. Playing for Broncos’ feeder club Toowoomba, Ikin was recalled into the Brisbane team during the 2004 representative season and played in 11 games in the latter half of the year

[edit] Post playing

Currently Ben Ikin is a rugby league commentator for the Nine Network and regularly appears on The Sunday Roast.

Ikin is married to Beth (Elizabeth) Bennett, the daughter of current Bronco's coach Wayne Bennett.

Ikin's younger brother, Anthony, is a five-time Australian aerobics champion, and was a top-twenty contestant in the first series of So You Think You Can Dance (Australia).

[edit] Sources