Tyson Frizell

Tyson Frizell
Personal information
Full nameTyson Lomano David Frizell
Born (1991-10-09) 9 October 1991 (age 33)
Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
Height183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight108 kg (17 st 0 lb)
Playing information
PositionSecond-row, Lock, Prop
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2011–12 Cronulla Sharks 12 2 0 0 8
2013–20 St. George Illawarra 165 23 0 0 92
2021– Newcastle Knights 81 15 0 0 60
Total 258 40 0 0 160
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2011–13 Wales 6 0 0 0 0
2015–16 NSW Country Origin 2 0 0 0 0
2016–23 New South Wales 16 3 0 0 12
2016–19 Australia 14 4 0 0 16
2019 Prime Minister's XIII 1 0 0 0 0
2019 Australia 9s 4 1 0 0 5
2023 Tonga 3 1 0 0 4
Source: [1][2]
As of 14 September 2024

Tyson Lomano David Frizell (born 9 October 1991) is a professional rugby league footballer who usually plays as a second-rower for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL. Frizell has the distinction of appearing for three different national teams.[a] He represented Wales in the 2011 Four Nations and 2013 World Cup, then Australia between 2016 and 2019, including the 2017 World Cup, and most recently Tonga.[3][4][5]

Prior to joining the Newcastle Knights, he played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and St. George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League. He has also represented NSW Country Origin, New South Wales in the State of Origin series and the Prime Minister's XIII.

Background

Frizell was born in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia to a Welsh father and Tongan mother. Tyson's adoptive brother Shannon is a rugby union player for the Highlanders in Super Rugby and the All Blacks internationally.[6]

Playing career

2009

He played his junior rugby league with the Corrimal Cougars, while also playing his junior rugby union with the Woonona Shamrocks club. Frizell attended the Illawarra Sports High School in Wollongong on the NSW South Coast. In 2009 he was selected as a centre for the Australian Rugby Union Schoolboys Tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland.[7]

2010 & 2011

Shortly after returning from the tour, Frizell announced that he would be joining the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks NYC squad for the 2010 season. In the 2010/11 season Frizell played 42 NYC games with the Sharks. While in his second NYC year, Frizell made his NRL début for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks on 29 July 2011 against the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium, following up with a second NRL appearance in 2011 against the Sydney Roosters. At the conclusion of the 2011 season, Frizell joined the Welsh Rugby League team, and played two tests in the Gillette Four Nations Series.[citation needed]

In his first full NRL season in 2012, Frizell played 10 games for Cronulla but despite some good performances, failed to hold down a regular back-row spot in the starting 17.

2012 & 2013

On 12 April 2012, Frizell announced he would joining the St. George Illawarra Dragons on a two-year deal beginning November 2012.[8] His debut for the club occurred on 10 March 2013 against the Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park, Melbourne. In the 2013 season Frizell played 22 games for St. George and was credited as being one of the few shining lights in a team that endured a very poor season.

At the conclusion of the 2013 NRL season, Frizell re-joined the Welsh team and played another 3 tests in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup held in the United Kingdom.

Upon returning from World Cup duties, St. George Illawarra announced on 11 December 2013 that Frizell had re-signed with the club at least until the end of the 2017 season.[9]

2016

Frizell enjoyed a breakout season in 2016 earning both a State of Origin début and an Australian début.[10]

2017

Frizell was selected in the Australian side for the 2017 rugby league world cup. Frizell came off the bench in Australia's 6–0 victory over England in the final.[11]

2018

In 2018, Frizell was selected to play for New South Wales in the 2018 State of Origin series. Frizell played in all three games as The Blues won the series 2–1.[12] Frizell was part of the St George side which qualified for the finals in 2018. In week one, St George upset Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium winning the match 48–18. The following week, St George were eliminated from the finals series losing 13–12 to South Sydney.[13]

2019

In Round 1 2019, Frizell suffered a freak injury in St George's defeat against the North Queensland Cowboys. Frizell had attempted to tackle North Queensland player Jordan Kahu but suffered a ruptured testicle after being hit in the groin by accident. Frizell later underwent surgery and was ruled out for 4–6 weeks.

Frizell was selected to play in the 2019 State of Origin series and featured in all 3 matches as New South Wales won the series 2–1. It was the first time since 2005 that New South Wales had won back to back series.[14][15]

Frizell made a total of 21 appearances for St. George in the 2019 NRL season as the club endured one of their worst ever seasons finishing in 15th place just above the last placed Gold Coast.[16]

On 30 September 2019, Frizell was named at second row in the Australia PM XIII side. On 7 October, Frizell was named in the Australian side for the 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s and the upcoming Oceania Cup fixtures.[citation needed]

2020

In March 2020, it was revealed that Frizell had accepted a three-year contract with the Newcastle Knights starting in 2021, however the contract wasn't immediately registered by the NRL due to the ongoing uncertainty around the competition during the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]

Frizell made a total of 20 appearances for St. George in the 2020 NRL season, in his final game for the club he scored two tries during their 30–22 victory over Melbourne at Kogarah Oval.[18]

2021

Frizell played 19 games for Newcastle in the 2021 NRL season including the club's elimination finals loss against Parramatta.[19]

2022

Frizell played 21 games for Newcastle in the 2022 NRL season scoring three tries as the club missed the finals finishing 14th on the table.[20]

2023

On 22 May, Frizell was selected by New South Wales for game one of the 2023 State of Origin series. Frizell played in the opening two games of the series but wasn't retained for game three.[21] Frizell played a total of 22 games for Newcastle in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 5th on the table. Frizell played in both finals games as Newcastle were eliminated in the second week of the finals by the New Zealand Warriors.[22]

In October 2023, Frizell made his test debut (and scored a try) for Tonga in the opening match of Tonga's tour to England becoming the first player to represent three different nations at international level.[23]

2024

Frizell played 19 games for Newcastle in the 2024 NRL season as the club finished 8th and qualified for the finals. They were eliminated in the first week of the finals by North Queensland.[24] On 21 November, Frizell announced that he was retiring from representative football to focus solely on playing club football.[25]

Statistics

Season Team Games Tries Pts
2011 Cronulla-Sutherland 2
2012 10 2 8
2013 St. George Illawarra Dragons 22 2 8
2014 15 3 12
2015 21 4 16
2016 21 3 12
2017 22 1 4
2018 23 5 20
2019 22 2 8
2020 20 3 12
2021 Newcastle Knights 19 3 12
2022 21 3 12
2023 22 4 16
2024 14 4 16
Totals 253 39 156

source;[26]

Notes

  1. ^ One source describes Frizell as the first player to achieve this feat.[3] The source discounts several players who represented Great Britain, England, and another Home Nation, such as Jim Sullivan, Leslie White, Emlyn Jenkins, Gus Risman, Garreth Carvell (Wales), and Joe Philbin (Ireland).

References

  1. ^ "Tyson Frizell". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Tyson Frizell – Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b Darbyshire, Drew (18 October 2023). "From Wales to Tonga via Australia: Tyson Frizell tells his incredible international rugby league story". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  4. ^ McDonald, Margie (4 October 2023). "Frizell adds Tonga to his Test journey". NSWRL.com.au. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  5. ^ Mascord, Steve (19 October 2023). "Don't tier it down: Woolf, Frizell support nation-hopping". NRL.com. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  6. ^ Waler, Brad. "Tyson Frizell and the brother he wasn't allowed to grow up alongside". National Rugby League. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Australian Schoolboys Rugby Union Squad Named". Australian Rugby. 19 October 2009. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  8. ^ Golden, Ian (14 September 2011). "Wales release 35-man train-on squad". World of Rugby League. Archived from the original on 15 November 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  9. ^ "Frizell Re-signs with Dragons". St George Illawarra Dragons. 11 December 2013. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  10. ^ Walter, Brad (17 June 2016). "State of Origin 2016: Why Tyson Frizell knew his time would come". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  11. ^ Gould, Joel (3 December 2017). "Tyson Frizell thankful to finish on a high". National Rugby League. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  12. ^ Bradford, Brendan (12 July 2018). "State of Origin: Josh McGuire hammered after poor defensive lapse". Sporting News. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  13. ^ Whaley, Pamela (15 September 2018). "NRL finals 2018: Rabbitohs defeat Dragons with Adam Reynolds kicking three field goals". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 16 September 2018.
  14. ^ Johnson, Paul (10 July 2019). "Emotional Blues legend Wayne Pearce opens up on his son Mitchell's battle". News.com.au. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019.
  15. ^ Keoghan, Sarah (11 July 2019). "'I'm very lucky': Text exchange that squashed Cook's pre-game nerves". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  16. ^ Chisholm, Ed (2 September 2019). "Paul McGregor facing the axe as St. George Illawarra Dragons coach following horror season". Sporting News. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019.
  17. ^ "Tyson Frizell accepts Knights offer". Newcastle Knights. 26 March 2020. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  18. ^ "Tyson Frizell signs off in style as St George Illawarra Dragons down second-string Storm". Australia: Fox Sports.
  19. ^ "Parramatta Eels defeat Newcastle Knights 28-20 in NRL elimination final". ABC News. 12 September 2021.
  20. ^ "NRL 2022: Newcastle Knights season review". sportingnews.com.
  21. ^ "Graham ruled out for Blues, trio to debut as Fittler makes 'gamble'". National Rugby League.
  22. ^ "NRL 2023: Newcastle Knights season review". www.sportingnews.com.
  23. ^ "From Wales to Tonga via Australia: Tyson Frizell tells his incredible international rugby league story". LoveRugbyLeague. 18 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  24. ^ "Brutal reality Newcastle must accept before solving confidence-killing 'riddle'". www.nine.com.au.
  25. ^ Writer, Staff (21 November 2024). "Knights forward calls time on rep career to focus on club footy". www.newcastleherald.com.au. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  26. ^ "Tyson Frizell". Newcastle Knights. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
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