Russell Packer

Russell Packer

Packer while playing for the Warriors in 2009.
Personal information
Born	(1989-10-09) 9 October 1989 Levin, New Zealand
Height	188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	112 kg (17 st 9 lb)
Playing information
Position	Prop
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
2008–13	New Zealand Warriors	110	6	0	0	24
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
2010	New Zealand Māori	1	0	0	0	0
2011	New Zealand	2	0	0	0	0
As of 13 January 2014
Source: RLP

Russell Packer (born 9 October 1989) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer currently serving a two-year prison sentence in Australia for assault. A New Zealand international representative prop forward, he previously played for the New Zealand Warriors of the National Rugby League.

Background

Educated at Foxton Beach School and Manawatu College, Packer originally played rugby union from a young age for the junior Foxton rugby club and also for a junior Marist club in Nelson.

Packer also played in the Foxton Rugby League Under 14s side at the age of nine years in a curtain raiser between the Manawatu Mustangs and Auckland Warriors reserve-grade side in 1998.

Packer then played for the Levin Lions. In 2005, Packer was named in the New Zealand under-16 side. When he was only 16 he debuted for the Central Falcons in the Bartercard Cup. He again achieved national selection in 2006 when he was named both the captain of the Junior Kiwis and as a part of the New Zealand 'A' squad.^[1] In 2007 he was named in the New Zealand under-18 side.

Professional playing career

In 2007, Packer signed with the New Zealand Warriors but spent most of the season playing for the Auckland Lions in the NSWRL Premier League. He also played for the Central Falcons in the final season of the Bartercard Cup. At the end of 2007 he received an offer from the Sydney Roosters but turned them down, preferring to stay in New Zealand.^[1]

He made his National Rugby League debut in Round 10 on 4 May 2008 against the Canberra Raiders. He played in four other NRL games in 2008 and also played twenty games for the Junior Warriors in the new Toyota Cup competition. At the end of the season Packer was named in the National Youth Competition's Team of the Year alongside teammate Ben Matulino.^[2] He finished his Toyota Cup career at the end of 2009 with twenty three appearances and five tries.^[3]

In 2010, Packer played for the New Zealand Māori against England.^[4]

Packer was selected to play for the Warriors in the 2011 NRL Grand final against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles as a starting prop forward. In the post-season he was selected to make his debut for the New Zealand national team in the same position in a game against Australia in Newcastle. At the 2011 Four Nations tournament held shortly after, Packer played one match for New Zealand against England.

In June 2013, at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Queensland, Packer was caught on camera urinating on field prior to kick off. Packer then played out the match for the Warriors against the Brisbane Broncos. The incident, dubbed "completely unacceptable" by the NRL resulted in a $15,000 fine.^[5] After the game he tweeted "Good win when u gotta go u gotta go lol".^[6]

On 2 October 2013, Packer signed a 4-year contract with the Newcastle Knights starting in 2014.^[7]

In January 2014, Packer's contracted was terminated by the Knights.^[8]

Assault conviction

On 29 November 2013, Packer appeared before court in Sydney, New South Wales, charged with assaulting a 22-year old man, fracturing his eye socket.^[9] Mr Packer punched the man in the face, causing him to fall and hit his head on the ground. Packer then punched the man several times as he lay on the ground and stamped on his head, leaving the victim with two fractured facial bones. On 6 January 2014, Packer was sentenced to two years in jail after pleading guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.^[10] Magistrate Greg Grogan labeled Packer's actions as "cowardly and deplorable".

References

External links

• 2014 Newcastle Knights profile
• 2013 New Zealand Warriors profile