Michael Dobson (rugby league)

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Michael Dobson
Personal information
Full name Michael Dobson
Date of birth May 29, 1986 (1986-05-29) (age 22)
Place of birth Junee, New South Wales, 5Australia
Height 6ft 2 in (1.76 m)
Weight 13 st 3 lbs (84 kg)
Nickname(s) Dobbo, Dobby, Mick
School(s) Erindale College
Club information
Position(s) Half-Back
Current club Hull KR
Number 26
Youth clubs
Years Club
Canberra
Youth representative teams
2003-2004 Australian Schoolboys
Senior clubs*
Years Club Apps (points)
2005-2008
2006
2006
2008
Canberra Raiders
Catalan Dragons (loan)
Wigan Warriors (loan)
Hull KR
20 (124)
10 (128)
14 (142)
1 (8)

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

Michael Dobson is a rugby league player currently playing for Super League (Europe) side Hull KR. He was born and raised in the rural NSW town of Junee.

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[edit] Career

Dobson, originally a promising young halfback for the Canberra Raiders Australian rugby league team, kick-started his career when he was loaned to French European Super League team Les Catalans Dragons as a replacement for the injured Stacey Jones. Jones was a highly rated halfback, but the then 19 year old Dobson impressed with his natural ability. While at Les Catalans, he attracted the attention of several other Super League clubs, subsequently being signed by the Wigan Warriors in May 2006.

There was some controversy over Dobson signing for Wigan. Under English law, Dobson was not permitted to play in England because he did not have a work permit. However, Wigan managed to obtain a work permit for him, albeit in controversial circumstances. When Dobson signed for Wigan, they were at the bottom of the Super League, 6 points behind the nearest team and heading towards relegation. Dobson's impact at Wigan helped the team survive relegation in the 2006 season. Michael is noted for his good organisational skills on the field.

Dobson is highly regarded as both a field and goal kicker. In 2006 he was statistically the best goal kicker in the world with a success rate of 84%, equal to or better than St Helens star Jamie Lyon (81%) and NRL players Hazem El Masri (84%) and Andrew Johns (80%).

Dobson re-signed with the Raiders at the end of 2006, and will be part of the Raiders' squad in 2007. Dobson has ambitions to play at the highest level in rugby league, and has enough promise to be considered as a future State of Origin player and possibly an Australian International. Upon re-signing with Canberra, Dobson said that he would consider returning to the Super League in the future.

[edit] 2008

Hull Kingston Rovers have agreed a deal to sign the Canberra Raiders scrum-half after he secured a release from his contract with the NRL club.[1] He signed two-and-a-half year deal at Hull KR after James Webster was released.[2][3] Dobson had been linked with a mid-season transfer to Hull FC and Harlequins Rugby League.[4][5][6] He has more recently been linked with a move to Hull KR, however they would need to release players before they could bring in Dobson.[7]

[edit] References

[edit] External links