Nathan Merritt facts for kids
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Personal information
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| Full name | Nathan Deane Merritt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 26 May 1983 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
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Playing information
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| Height | 181 cm (5 ft 11 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 90 kg (14 st 2 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing, Fullback | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nathan Merritt (born 26 May 1983) is a former professional rugby league player from Australia. He played as a winger and fullback. Merritt is best known for his time with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, where he won the 2014 NRL Premiership. He also played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
Merritt was a fantastic try-scorer. He was the top try-scorer in the National Rugby League (NRL) in both 2006 and 2011. In 2013, he became only the ninth player in the league's history to score 150 tries. He also represented New South Wales in the State of Origin series, as well as the City New South Wales, Indigenous All Stars, and Prime Minister's XIII teams.
Contents
Early Life and Junior Career
Nathan Merritt was born in Sydney, Australia. He is an Indigenous Australian. He grew up in Redfern, a suburb in South Sydney.
As a young player, he played his junior rugby league for the Alexandria Rovers. This was part of the South Sydney Juniors competition.
Professional Playing Career
Starting Out in the 2000s
Nathan Merritt made his first-grade debut for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2002. He played against the New Zealand Warriors and scored a try in his very first game.
After the 2003 season, Merritt moved to the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. He played there for two years. In 2005, he didn't play many first-grade games. However, he was a star player in the lower-grade NSWRL Premier League for Newtown. He scored almost 300 points that year. In one game, he scored an amazing 40 points, including five tries!
His great performance in 2005 led his old club, South Sydney, to offer him a new contract.
Return to South Sydney and Top Scorer
Merritt rejoined the South Sydney Rabbitohs for the 2006 NRL season. He was a standout player for the team, which didn't perform very well that year. He was one of only three players to play in all 24 games for the club.
He became the highest try-scorer in the 2006 season with 22 tries. This was a special achievement because he was the first top try-scorer to play for a team that finished last in the competition. Merritt also scored a try in the final minute of the first three games of the season. This was a feat that had never been done before.
His strong performances earned him his first representative honor. He was chosen to play for the Prime Minister's XIII team in Papua New Guinea. Australia won the game, and Merritt scored a try.
Iconic Moments and Achievements
In 2009, Merritt scored three tries against the Sydney Roosters. South Sydney won that game 52–12. Later that season, he created one of the most memorable moments in rugby league. With less than 10 seconds left in a game against the Wests Tigers, he kicked a field goal to win the game 23–22 for South Sydney. This was the only field goal he ever kicked in his career. It was a truly special moment because Souths came back from far behind, and the game was played at the historic SCG.
For this amazing field goal, he won the Peter Frilingos Memorial Award for Headline Moment of the Year at the 2009 Dally M Awards. In 2010, he continued his great form at the Sydney Cricket Ground by scoring another three tries against the Wests Tigers.
Success in the 2010s
On 8 August 2011, Nathan Merritt equaled a club record for South Sydney. He scored five tries in one game against the Parramatta Eels, which South Sydney won 56–6. Only a few other club legends had scored five tries in a match before him. Just six days later, he scored three more tries against the Canberra Raiders. This meant he scored eight tries in just eight days, a rare achievement in the NRL.
Merritt finished the 2011 NRL season as the clear leading try-scorer with 23 tries. His excellent form led to him being selected again for the Prime Minister's XIII team.
In the 2012 All Stars Match, Merritt scored two tries and was named Man of the Match. He scored 14 tries in 19 games during the 2012 NRL season. This was his first time not being South Sydney's top try-scorer since 2006. He finally played in his first finals match that year. Although South Sydney lost that game, they won their next finals match, which was their first finals victory in 24 years. Unfortunately, Merritt was injured and could not play in that historic win.
State of Origin and Record Breaking
On 18 June 2013, Merritt was chosen to play for New South Wales in the 2013 State of Origin series. He played one game for NSW but was not selected again for the team. South Sydney made the finals again in 2013, and Merritt played in their victory against the Melbourne Storm. This was his first and only finals win in his career.
On 27 September 2013, Merritt equaled Benny Wearing's record for the most tries scored for the South Sydney Rabbitohs (144 tries). He then broke this record on 11 April 2014, scoring his 145th try against the Penrith Panthers.
Retirement and Legacy
In 2014, Nathan Merritt was dropped from the South Sydney team for a game. Another player, Alex Johnston, took his spot and played very well. Merritt played only some games for the rest of the season.
On 24 September 2014, Nathan Merritt announced he was retiring from rugby league. He finished his career as the highest try-scorer for South Sydney. He also played the second-most games for the club in its long history, which dates back to 1908. Even though he was part of the 2014 South Sydney squad that won the Grand Final, he chose to play in the annual Koori Knockout instead of attending the Grand Final.
Outside Rugby League
In 2007, Nathan Merritt appeared in a rap music video for Anthony Mundine's song "Platinum Ryder." It's even said that US hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg, who is a Rabbitohs fan, named Merritt as his favorite NRL player!
When he announced his retirement, Merritt also shared that he was starting a charity. It was called the Nathan Merritt Foundation. Its goal was to help young people in Redfern.
In October 2023, Merritt had a serious health scare but thankfully made a full recovery.
See also
- List of players with 100 NRL tries
Images for kids
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Merritt representing the Rabbitohs in the USA in 2008
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Merrit playing for the North Sydney Bears in 2012
