Brett White

Brett White
Brett White signing autographs.
Personal information
Full name Brett White
Nickname Punchy
Born 8 April 1982 (1982-04-08) (age 29)
Cooma, New South Wales, Australia
Height 188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 110 kg (17 st 5 lb)
Playing information
Position Prop
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2005–2010 Melbourne Storm 127 6 0 0 20
2011– Canberra Raiders 21 0 0 0 0
Total 148 6 0 0 20
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2006– Country Origin 5 0 0 0 0
2007–09 New South Wales 8 1 0 0 4
2009 Australia 3 0 0 0 0
As of 14 June 2011
Source: NRL Stats, [1]

Brett White (born 8 April 1982 in Jindabyne, New South Wales) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Canberra Raiders, and formally of the Melbourne Storm of the NRL. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative prop forward, he has played his whole career to date at the Storm, with whom he won the 2007 and 2009 premierships before the Storm was subsequently stripped of both titles.

Contents

Playing career

Growing up in the NSW high country in Berridale, White started his rugby league career with the Cooma Colts. He was a promising junior and was graded by St. George Illawarra Dragons from school. White was a key member of the Dragon's Jersey Flegg Cup team but leg and ankle injuries halted his progress in 2003 and 2004. With props such as Luke Bailey and Jason Ryles ahead of him, White was unable to make his way into first-grade and he relocated to the Melbourne Storm.

White made his first-grade debut in Round one, 2005, scoring a try against the Newcastle Knights at Olympic Park. At the end of the season he was named the Storm's Rookie of the Year after becoming Robbie Kearns' starting front-row partner.[1] He was a member of the Melbourne Storm team to face the Brisbane Broncos in the 2006 NRL Grand Final, losing 15–8. The next year he was a member of the winning grand final against Manly.

White played in the 2008 NRL Grand Final defeat to the Manly.[2]

He played in the 2009 premiership against Parramatta.[3]

Controversies

White's first grade career have involved some controversial incidents. In round 14, 2006, White lodged a biting complaint against Parramatta's Fuifui Moimoi for which Moimoi was later exonerated after a lengthy judiciary hearing. He was also again in the act against Parramatta in 2007, accused of a chicken wing tackle on their captain Nathan Cayless in that year's preliminary final. In round two, 2008, White was sent off for retaliating to a Ben Ross elbow to team-mate Cooper Cronk which also saw Ross sent off. Cronk's kick found Israel Folau who scored the match-levelling try. He was given a four match ban.

More recently White was involved in an Origin scuffle with Steve Price (see below).

Representative career

In 2006, White made his representative debut in the Country Origin team, defeating City by 12–10.

White was selected to represent New South Wales as a front-rower for game I and on the bench for game II of the 2007 State of Origin series.

In 2008, White made himself available for Ireland's 2008 Rugby League World Cup campaign and in August he was named in the Ireland training squad.[4][5][6] Although White was named in the Irish squad, he was forced to withdraw following the NRL grand final, when he was scheduled for foot surgery.[7][8]

White was also named in the 46-man Australian preliminary squad for the World Cup.[9]

White played in the opening two State of Origin matches for New South Wales in 2010, scoring a try in the second match, but was dropped for the third game.

Steve Price incident

Game 3 of the 2009 series also saw White return to State of Origin (replacing the injured Michael Weyman), playing a leading role in a controversial NSW victory. In the closing stages of the contest White was involved in a scuffle with Queensland prop Steve Price which left Price unconscious. Later that month fellow former NSW rep John Hopoate said while being interviewed "White, if you're going to knock Pricey out I will knock you out". White refused an offer to fight Hopoate in a boxing match.

Footnotes

External links