Will Smith (rugby league) facts for kids
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Personal information
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| Full name | William Smith | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 3 July 1992 Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia |
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| Height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 88 kg (13 st 12 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Playing information
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| Position | Fullback, Five-eighth, Halfback, Hooker | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 26 August 2023
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Will Smith, born on July 3, 1992, is an Australian professional rugby league player. He played as a fullback, five-eighth, or hooker. He last played for the Wests Tigers in Australia's top rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Before that, he played for the Gold Coast Titans, Parramatta Eels, and Penrith Panthers in the NRL. He also played for Hull F.C. in the English Super League and represented the Indigenous All Stars team.
Contents
Early Life and Background
Will Smith was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. He is an Indigenous Australian. His grandfather, Uncle Bill Smith, was an important Aboriginal elder in the Newcastle area.
Will started playing junior rugby league for the Western Suburbs Rosellas. This team is part of the Newcastle Rugby League. Later, he was signed by the Newcastle Knights club.
Playing Career Highlights
Starting His Career
From 2010 to 2012, Will Smith played for the Newcastle Knights' NYC team. This was a competition for younger players. In May 2012, he signed a new one-year contract with the Knights.
In 2013, he moved up to play for Newcastle's NSW Cup team. This is a step below the main NRL competition. In June 2013, he signed a two-year contract with the Penrith Panthers. This new contract started in 2014.
Playing for Penrith Panthers
In 2014, Will Smith made his first appearance in the NRL. He played for the Penrith Panthers in Round 21 of the 2014 NRL season. He played as a five-eighth and appeared in eight games that year. This included two games in the finals series. He was also named as the five-eighth in the 2014 New South Wales Cup Team of the Year.
In 2015, Will played for Penrith in the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines tournament. He played nine games for the Panthers that season. He scored two tries and kicked four goals.
In 2016, Will Smith played for the Indigenous All Stars team. They played against the World All Stars. He was also part of the Penrith squad for the 2016 NRL Auckland Nines. In November, it was announced that he would join the Parramatta Eels for the 2017 season.
Time with Parramatta Eels
Will Smith made his first appearance for the Parramatta Eels in Round 9 of the 2017 NRL season. He played as a five-eighth and scored a try. In July 2017, he signed a one-year extension with the club. Towards the end of the season, he moved to play as a fullback. He played 15 games that year, scoring six tries. This included two finals matches.
In 2018, Will Smith started for Parramatta in Round 2. He later spent some time playing in reserve grade. He was then called back to the Parramatta team.
In 2019, Will played in Parramatta's first game of the season. After that, he played in reserve grade for about two months. He returned to the Parramatta team in May. He played in Round 10 against North Queensland. After a loss in Round 13, he was moved back to reserve grade.
In 2020, Will Smith played his first game for Parramatta in over a year. This was in Round 18 of the 2020 NRL season. In Round 20, he scored the winning try for Parramatta against the Wests Tigers. This win helped Parramatta finish third on the ladder. In November, he signed a new one-year contract to stay with Parramatta for 2021.
In 2021, Will Smith played 17 games for Parramatta. This included both of their finals matches. Parramatta was knocked out of the competition in the semi-finals. In October, Will signed a two-year deal to join the Gold Coast Titans for the 2022 season.
Moving to Gold Coast and Hull F.C.
In 2022, Will Smith made his first appearance for the Gold Coast Titans in Round 1. They played against his old club, Parramatta. In June, Will was released by the Gold Coast club. He asked for this release for personal reasons.
In July, Will Smith signed a short-term contract to play for Super League team Hull F.C. in England. He played there until the end of the 2022 season. In November, it was announced that he signed a contract with the Wests Tigers for the 2023 NRL Preseason.
Return to Wests Tigers
In 2023, Will Smith played four matches for the Wests Tigers. The club finished last in the 2023 NRL season for the second year in a row.
Images for kids
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Will Smith playing for the Newcastle Knights in 2013
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Will Smith playing for the Penrith Panthers in 2016
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