| Boyd playing for the Broncos in 2008 | ||||||
| Personal information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 17 July 1987 Brisbane, Australia |
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| Height | 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) | |||||
| Weight | 96 kg (15 st 2 lb) | |||||
| Playing information | ||||||
| Position | Fullback, Wing, Centre, Five-eighth | |||||
| Club | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 2006–08 | Brisbane Broncos | 73 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 124 |
| 2009–11 | St. George Illawarra | 69 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 52 |
| 2012– | Newcastle Knights | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 142 | 44 | 0 | 0 | 176 | |
| Representative | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 2008–11 | Queensland | 11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 2008–11 | Australia | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| As of 16 Nov 2011 | ||||||
| Source: RLP & NRL Stats | ||||||
Darius Boyd (born on 17 July 1987 in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer currently playing for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL. Boyd plays at fullback, however he is also very capable as a three-quarter back, as proven by his selection for Australia and Queensland as a winger. He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos with whom he won the 2006 NRL Premiership[1] and more recently the St. George Illawarra Dragons. He received the 2010 Dally M fullback of the year as well as coming third in the overall standings while playing for the Dragons. He consequently played in the 2010 Grand Final, where he was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal.
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Boyd was mostly raised by his grandmother, after his parents had marital problems in his early life.[2] After a watershed final year at Palm Beach Currumbin High School, where he was the Australian Schoolboys fullback in 2005,[3][4] he debuted for Burleigh Bears in the Queensland Cup after playing for his local club, the Mudgeeraba Redbacks.
Boyd made his debut for the Brisbane Broncos against North Queensland in Round 1 of the 2006 NRL season on the wing and scored a try. He was a solid performer in his rookie season and even had an opportunity to play in his favoured fullback position from Round 16 to 24 after Karmichael Hunt fractured a foot bone in round 15. Boyd won the Broncos' rookie of the year award and played on the wing in the 2006 NRL Grand Final-winning Broncos team.
Boyd made a strong start to his 2008 season by scoring a hat-trick in Round 1. Boyd started to receive attention from other clubs as he was off contract at the end of the 2008 season. There was speculation that he would move to the Canterbury Bulldogs alongside fellow Broncos Michael Ennis and Ben Hannant,[5] or possibly the Dragons following his coach at Brisbane, Wayne Bennett.
After leading the NRL try-scoring table for most of the first half of the season 2008, Boyd got his first Queensland State of Origin call up due to teammate Justin Hodges' suspension.[6] On his debut, Boyd scored two tries, both from passes from centre Greg Inglis, in a winning Queensland outfit.[2]
On 20 August, it was officially announced that Boyd would join the St. George Illawarra Dragons on a 3 year deal.[7] There he would join fellow Bronco Nick Emmett and coach Wayne Bennett.
On 16 October 2008, Boyd was called up to the Australian 2008 World Cup squad, again as a replacement for Justin Hodges after Hodges was ruled out with a shoulder injury. He made his international debut during the tournament.
Boyd was selected at fullback for the opening round of the NRL in the colours of St. George Illawarra Dragons.[8] In Round four he travelled to Brisbane for his (and Bennett's) first match against his old club, which the Dragons won, ending the Broncos' unbeaten start to the season. He has had a strong start to the season leading the tackle bust count. Boyd scored his first try in Dragons colours against the New Zealand Warriors in Round 20 of the 2009 competition, coming off a Jamie Soward offload late in that match. His second try for the club, against the Canberra Raiders in Round 23, was reminiscent of one of his two tries he scored in his Origin debut for Queensland in 2008. Despite this effort, the Dragons lost the match 24–12 after leading 12–0. During his first two seasons at the Dragons, Boyd only scored four tries, two in each season. He equalled his 2009 and 2010 efforts with a double in the Dragons' 25-16 opening round win against the Gold Coast Titans in the 2011 season.
Boyd was selected for Australia in the one-off test match against New Zealand on 8 May 2009. He scored a try in his first Test match against New Zealand and they won 38–10.[9]
In April 2009 Boyd was named in the preliminary 25 man squad to represent Queensland in the opening State of Origin match for 2009,[10] and was subsequently picked on the wing for the opening State of Origin match.[11]
Boyd played in all three State of Origin matches in 2010, crossing the line in each match to become the series' top try-scorer.
Also during the 2010 NRL season Boyd played his 100th career match against the team he made his debut with, the Broncos. The Dragons won 34-16 and Boyd was named man of the match. Also in that season's Club Anzac game he received the inaugural "Spirit of ANZAC Medal" as man-of-the-match.[12] He was one of the favourites for the Dally M Medal in 2010, having had sizeable leads over last year's winner Jarryd Hayne and Roosters player Todd Carney when voting went behind doors after round 16. He ended up finishing third, 2 points behind eventual winner Todd Carney and one point behind Wests Tigers hooker Robbie Farah. He did however, take out the Dally M Fullback of the Year.
Boyd played in St George Illawarra's victory in the 2010 NRL Grand Final and was awarded the prestigious Clive Churchill Medal as man-of-the-match.[13]
In the 2010-11 off-season, Boyd suggested the he would leave the Dragons if head coach Wayne Bennett did so.[14] Boyd played in the Dragons Charity Shield win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs, scoring a try. He also played in the 2011 World Club Challenge team, defeating the Wigan Warriors. On 30 March 2011, Wayne Bennett announced he will not coach the Dragons in 2012, hinting that Boyd may leave the club as well, possibly following him back to the Brisbane Broncos where he made his first grade debut with and possibly following in the footsteps of Justin Hodges (who made his debut for the Broncos in 2000 before a short stint at the Sydney Roosters in 2002 where he won a premiership before returning to the Broncos in 2005 and winning another premiership).[15][16] Bennett has since announced that he will not go back to Brisbane Broncos due to personal reasons.
However, with Bennett signing a four-year deal with the Newcastle Knights on 12 April, such is the certainty that Boyd would follow him to Newcastle. Such a move would see their current fullback Kurt Gidley shift to the five-eighth, halfback or hooker role in order to accommodate Boyd's move. On 9 May, the Gold Coast Titans officially withdrew from the race to sign Boyd.
Boyd's final game for the Dragons was against his old club, the Broncos. He scored the try that forced golden point for the Dragons, after they were down 12-6, but the Dragons ultimately lost the match narrowly, 13-12 after his test, state and former club captain, Darren Lockyer slotted in the winning field goal.
On 9 June 2011, Boyd officially announced he would remain under the guidance of Wayne Bennett by signing with the Newcastle Knights on a four-year deal.[17]
Darius was selected to represent Australia in the 2011 Four Nations tournament held in the United Kingdom. On 16 October, Boyd scored 2 tries for Australia in the Test match against New Zealand held at his new home ground Ausgrid Stadium, Newcastle.
| Preceded by Billy Slater (Melbourne Storm) |
Clive Churchill Medallist 2010 |
Succeeded by Glenn Stewart (Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles) |
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