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Nathan Merritt

Personal information
Full name	Nathan Deane Merritt
Born	(1983-05-26) 26 May 1983 (age 42) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Height	181 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	90 kg (14 st 2 lb)
Position	Wing, Fullback
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2002–03 South Sydney 23 12 1 0 50 2004–05 Cronulla Sharks 19 8 6 0 44 2006–14 South Sydney 195 134 33 1 603 Total 237 154 40 1 697 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2005 NSW Residents 1 0 2 0 4 2006–11 Prime Minister's XIII 2 2 1 0 10 2010–12 Indigenous All Stars 3 3 0 0 12 2011–13 City NSW 2 0 0 0 0 2013 New South Wales 1 0 0 0 0

Nathan Merritt (born 26 May 1983) is a former professional rugby league player from Australia. He played as a winger for the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. Nathan was part of the team that won the 2014 NRL Premiership with the Rabbitohs.

He also represented his state, New South Wales, in the State of Origin series. Nathan was known for scoring many tries. He was the top try-scorer in the National Rugby League (NRL) in both 2006 and 2011. In 2013, he became one of only nine players in the league's history to score 150 tries.

Early Life and Junior Career

Nathan Merritt was born in Sydney, Australia. He is an Indigenous Australian and grew up in Redfern, a suburb of South Sydney. As a young player, he played for the Alexandria Rovers in the South Sydney Juniors competition.

Nathan Merritt's Professional Rugby League Journey

Starting with the Rabbitohs (2002-2003)

Nathan Merritt made his first-grade debut for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2002. This was in Round 9 against the New Zealand Warriors. He even scored a try in his very first game. After the 2003 season, Nathan moved to play for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.

Time with the Cronulla Sharks (2004-2005)

Nathan played for the Sharks for two years. In 2005, he had a challenging year in the top grade. However, he was an outstanding player in the lower-grade NSWRL Premier League for Newtown. He scored almost 300 points that year. In one game against the Windsor Wolves, he scored 40 points, including five tries.

He won several awards at Newtown RLFC for his great performance. Because of his excellent play, his old club, South Sydney, offered him a new contract.

Returning to South Sydney (2006-2009)

Nathan rejoined the South Sydney Rabbitohs for the 2006 NRL season. He was a key player for the team that year. He played in all 24 games for the club. Nathan was the highest try-scorer in the 2006 season with 22 tries. This was a special achievement because his team finished last that year.

He also made history by scoring a try in the final minute of the first three games of the season. This had never been done before. His strong performances led to his first representative honor. He was chosen to play for the Prime Minister's XIII team. They played against the Papua New Guinea Kumuls and won 28–8, with Nathan scoring a try.

In 2009, Nathan scored three tries against the Sydney Roosters. Souths won that game 52–12. Later that season, he made a memorable play against the Wests Tigers. With only seconds left, he kicked a field goal to win the game 23–22. This was the only field goal of his career. This moment was so special that he won an award for "Headline Moment of the Year."

Later Career Highlights (2010-2014)

Nathan continued to have great games at the Sydney Cricket Ground. In 2010, he scored another three tries against the Wests Tigers.

On 8 August 2011, Nathan scored five tries in a single match against Parramatta. South Sydney won that game 56–6. This tied a club record for most tries in a game. Just six days later, he scored three more tries against the Canberra Raiders. This meant he scored eight tries in eight days, a rare feat in the NRL. He finished the 2011 NRL season as the top try-scorer with 23 tries.

In 2012, Nathan played in the All Stars Match. He scored two tries and was named Man of the Match. He scored 14 tries in 19 games that season. Nathan finally played in his first finals match in 2012.

On 18 June 2013, Nathan was chosen to play for New South Wales in the 2013 State of Origin series. This was his only State of Origin game. South Sydney made the finals again in 2013. Nathan played in their win against Melbourne, which was his only finals victory.

On 27 September 2013, Nathan tied the record for most tries scored for the South Sydney Rabbitohs with 144 tries. He broke this record on 11 April 2014, scoring his 145th try.

Nathan Merritt announced his retirement from rugby league on 24 September 2014. He finished his career as the highest try-scorer for South Sydney. He also played the second-most games for the club since 1908. Even though he was part of the 2014 South Sydney team that won the Grand Final, he chose to play in the annual Koori Knockout instead.

Life After Rugby League

In 2007, Nathan Merritt appeared in a music video for a song called "Platinum Ryder." It is said that the famous US hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg is a fan of the Rabbitohs and named Nathan as his favorite NRL player.

When he announced his retirement, Nathan shared that he was starting a charity. The "Nathan Merritt Foundation" aims to help young people in Redfern.

In October 2023, Nathan Merritt had a health issue but made a full recovery.