Will Smith (rugby league) facts for kids
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Personal information
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Smith | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 3 July 1992 Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 88 kg (13 st 12 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Playing information
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Fullback, Five-eighth, Halfback, Hooker | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
As of 26 August 2023
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Will Smith (born 3 July 1992) is an Australian professional rugby league player. He plays as a five-eighth, fullback, or hooker. Currently, he plays for the Wests Tigers in Australia's top league, the National Rugby League (NRL).
Will has also played for other NRL teams like the Gold Coast Titans, Parramatta Eels, and Penrith Panthers. He also played for Hull F.C. in the English Super League. He has represented the Indigenous All Stars team too.
Contents
Meet Will Smith: His Early Life
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. Later, he was signed by the Newcastle Knights club.
Will's Rugby League Journey
Starting Out: Junior Career
From 2010 to 2012, Will played for the Newcastle Knights' team in the NYC. This is a competition for younger players. In 2012, he signed a new contract to stay with the Knights for another year.
.jpg)
In 2013, he moved up to play for Newcastle's NSW Cup team. On 25 June 2013, he signed a two-year contract with the Penrith Panthers. He started playing for them in 2014.
Playing for the Penrith Panthers
In 2014, Will made his first game in the NRL for the Penrith Panthers. He played against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. He played eight games that year as a five-eighth, including two games in the finals. He was also named as the best 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. This is a special rugby league tournament. He played nine games for Penrith that season, scoring two tries and kicking four goals.
In 2016, Will played for the Indigenous All Stars team. This team plays against the World All Stars. He was also part of the Penrith team for the 2016 NRL Auckland Nines. Later that year, it was announced that he would join the Parramatta Eels in 2017.
Time with the Parramatta Eels
Will started playing for Parramatta in 2017. He played his first game for them in Round 9 against the North Queensland Cowboys and scored a try. He played well and signed a new contract to stay with the club. Towards the end of the season, he played as a fullback. He played 15 games, including two finals, and scored six tries.
In a big final game against the North Queensland Cowboys, Will scored a long-range try. However, the Cowboys ended up winning the game 24–16.
In 2018, Will played his first game of the season for Parramatta in Round 2. He played in several games that year, sometimes starting and sometimes coming off the bench.
In 2019, Will played in Parramatta's first game of the season. He then spent some time playing in reserve grade. He returned to the main team in Round 10.
In 2020, Will played his first game for Parramatta in over a year in Round 18. In Round 20, he scored the winning try against the Wests Tigers. This win helped Parramatta finish third in the league, giving them a good chance in the finals. He signed a contract to stay with Parramatta for the 2021 season.
In 2021, Will played 17 games for Parramatta. This included both of their finals matches. Parramatta was knocked out of the competition in the semi-finals. After the season, Will signed a two-year deal to join the Gold Coast Titans.
Moving to Gold Coast and Hull F.C.
In 2022, Will made his first game for the Gold Coast Titans in Round 1. He played against his old team, Parramatta. Parramatta won the game 32–28. In June, Will asked to leave the Gold Coast club and was released.
Later in 2022, Will signed a short-term contract to play for Super League team Hull F.C. in England. In November, he signed a contract to train with the Wests Tigers for the 2023 season.
Back with the Wests Tigers
In 2023, Will played four matches for the Wests Tigers. The team finished last in the league for the second year in a row.
Images for kids
-
Will Smith playing for the Parramatta Eels
