David Mead (rugby league)

David Mead
Personal information
Full name David Mead (formerly Moore)
Born 4 November 1988
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Height 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 92 kg (14 st 7 lb)
Playing information
Position Fullback, Wing, Centre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2009– Gold Coast Titans 115 57 0 0 228
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2008–13 Papua New Guinea 8 5 0 0 20
2014 Country Origin 1 2 0 0 8
Source: RLP

David Mead (formerly Moore)[1] (born 4 November 1988) is a professional rugby league footballer for the Gold Coast Titans of the National Rugby League. A Papua New Guinea national representative winger, he has played his entire NRL career to date with the Titans.

Background

Mead attended Kadina High School and Trinity Catholic College in Lismore New South Wales. He played junior football with Lismore Marist Brothers.[2]

Playing career

Mead was named in the Papua New Guinea squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.[3] He played impressively during the World Cup and his NRL debut for the Gold Coast Titans was highly anticipated.[2]

In 2009, Mead signed a contract extension with the Gold Coast Titans after turning down an offer from the Sydney Roosters.[1] He made his club debut in round 13 of the 2009 season. In round 17, he made his first appearance in the starting line-up, scoring 2 tries. He went on to score 2 tries in the following round. He also scored a double in his first semi-final appearance at the end of the year.

Mead was named as part of the Papua New Guinea squad for the 2009 Pacific Cup.[4] He was named Papua New Guinea player of the year for 2009.[5]

A regular on the wing in 2010, Mead was one of the club's leaders in many statistics before a foot injury sore him miss the rest of the season from July onwards. Mead said, "It is pretty frustrating because I have worked so hard and to get halfway through the year now and it is all just gone, just like that."[6]

Despite the Titans poor record in 2011, Mead played in every game and scored 16 tries from his 24 appearances. In the round 9 match against the New Zealand Warriors, he scored a treble, and finished the season by scoring tries in 6 consecutive matches.

Mead wishes to one day represent Qld in State of Origin and follow in the footsteps of his childhood hero and fellow Papua New Guinean Adrian Lam. Mead played his first senior football for the Titans Toyota Cup side, making him eligible to play for the Maroons.[7]

In the 2013 NRL season's 23rd round Mead became the first Titan to score 50 tries.

Statistics

Season Team Pld T G FG Pts
2009 Gold Coast Titans 14 8 0 0 32
2010 Gold Coast Titans 15 6 0 0 24
2011 Gold Coast Titans 24 16 0 0 64
2012 Gold Coast Titans 20 10 0 0 40
2013 Gold Coast Titans 16 11 0 0 44
2014 * Gold Coast Titans 24 4 0 0 0
Totals 89 55 0 0 204

(* denotes season still competing)

Honours

Debut
Papua New Guinea Kumuls
PNG Test Debut – 25 October 2008
Gold Coast Titans
First Grade Debut – 8 June 2009
Awards
Preceded by
Award Introduced		 Gold Coast Titans
"The Preston"
2012 		Succeeded by
William Zillman
Records
Gold Coast Titans
Most Tries (51)
Gold Coast Titans
Most Tries in a Season (16)

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Titans youngsters palm cash, stay loyal". AAP. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.northernstar.com.au/story/2008/10/27/moore-store-lismore-junior/
  3. ↑ "Wilshere handed Kumuls captaincy". BBC. 2008-10-14. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
  4. ↑ Kumuls named The National, 12 October 2009
  5. ↑ "Hayne named Player of the Year". Daily Telegraph. 10-11-2009. Retrieved 2010-04-19. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ↑ Luke Turgeon (30 June 2010). "Mead's season in ruins". goldcoast.com.au. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  7. ↑ http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2011/03/02/296175_gold-coast-titans.html

External links