Ryan James (rugby league)

Ryan James (born 20 July 1991) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop and second-row forward for the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL.

Ryan James
Personal information
Born (1991-07-20) 20 July 1991
Tweed Heads, New South Wales, Australia
Height193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight106 kg (16 st 10 lb)
Playing information
PositionProp, Second-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2010–20 Gold Coast Titans 144 30 0 0 120
2021 Canberra Raiders 0 0 0 0 0
Total 144 30 0 0 120
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2011– Indigenous All Stars 5 0 0 0 0
2013–15 Country Origin 2 0 0 0 0
As of 10 July 2020
Source: [1]

He played for the Indigenous All Stars and Country Origin sides.

Background

James was born in Tweed Heads, New South Wales, Australia into a family of Indigenous Australian descent. (Bundjalung),[2]

Career

Early career

James played his junior rugby league for the Bilambil Jets. He attended Tweed River High School, where he represented the NSW CHS under 15's schoolboy team in 2006. In 2008 James, who then attended Palm Beach Currumbin High School, played in the school's ARL Schoolboy Cup winning side. They defeated Matraville Sports High School 24-22 in the final with James winning the Peter Sterling Medal as player of the year. Later that year, he represented the Queensland Schoolboys, before being selected for the Australian Schoolboys.

Gold Coast Titans

James made his NRL debut in round 14 of the 2010 season for the Gold Coast Titans at Skilled Park. The Gold Coast won 28-14 over the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, with James starring on debut against Manly's more experienced forward pack.[3]

He played four matches in the 2010 NRL season, coming off the bench each time. He was named in the 2010 National Youth Competition team of the year in the second-row.

James played in the 2011 All Stars match, coming off the bench for the Indigenous All Stars. James made 14 appearances for the club during the 2011 NRL season which saw the Gold Coast finish last and claim their first wooden spoon.[4]

In round 1 of the 2016 NRL Finals Series, James in the 74th minute of play had scored his 13th try of the season breaking the 76 year old record of most tries scored by a front rower in a single season.[5]

During the 2017 NRL season, the club endured a torrid time on and off the field with then coach Neil Henry and star recruit Jarryd Hayne reportedly involved in a long standing feud. Following the club's round 24 loss to Parramatta where it was rumoured that the playing group was split and Henry was about to be terminated, James angrily told the media in defence of the team and his coach "You can say allegedly from an unnamed source and you can say anything, it's BS". The following week, Henry was terminated as Gold Coast head coach.[6][7][8][9]

After being named co-captain alongside new teammate Kevin Proctor, James signed a three-year extension with the Titans to keep him on the Gold Coast until the end of 2020.[10]

In the 2018 NRL season, James made 23 appearances as the Gold Coast finished in 14th position on the table.[11]

James made a total of 6 appearances for the Gold Coast in the 2019 NRL season as the club endured a horror year on and off the field. During the halfway mark of the season, head coach Garth Brennan was sacked by the club after a string of poor results. The Gold Coast managed to win only 4 games for the entire season and finished last claiming the Wooden Spoon.[12][13]

On 6 October 2019, James was invited to do the Welcome to Country speech before the start of the 2019 NRL Grand Final. As James started the speech he said the words “As a game we stand together, side-by-side … I’m lost". James then stood awkwardly in the centre of ANZ Stadium before the Australian National Anthem was played.[14] As a result of this gaffe, one of the Titans' major sponsors, TFH, announced that they would be terminating their sponsorship of the club, labelling it "embarrassing" and "offensive".[15] The following week, TFH announced that they would continue to sponsor the Gold Coast after reversing their decision to end their sponsorship and apologised publicly to James.[16]

On December 11, 2019, James supported the idea of the Australian National Anthem being snubbed for the 2020 Indigenous All Stars game saying it didn't represent Aboriginal Australians.[17][18] On 31 January 2020, James suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury during pre-season training for the 2020 NRL season and was ruled out of action indefinitely. Gold Coast head of performance and culture Mal Meninga said in a statement "Everyone at the Titans shared Ryan's pain today, He is obviously a hugely popular part of this club, and earned even more respect with the positive way he applied himself to his recovery from the original injury last year, without ever once getting down or feeling sorry for himself".[19]

James will join the Canberra Raiders for two years starting in 2021, subject to passing a physical with his new clubs medical staff [20] .

Statistics
SeasonTeamPldTGFGPts
2010 Gold Coast Titans4----
2011 Gold Coast Titans14----
2012 Gold Coast Titans3----
2013 Gold Coast Titans223--12
2014 Gold Coast Titans41--4
2015 Gold Coast Titans215--20
2016 Gold Coast Titans2512--48
2017 Gold Coast Titans223--12
2018 Gold Coast Titans236--24
Totals13830--120

(* denotes season still competing)

gollark: You can pull claim data from the API dynmap uses.
gollark: Well, it shouldn't have.
gollark: As in, this CC Tweaked update.
gollark: <@184468521042968577> Wait, you were testing with the non-v2 skynet, right? v2 was broken until this update.
gollark: The packet corruption thing?

References
  1. Ryan James rugbyleagueproject.org
  2. MEDIA: Ryan James on #LeagueLife
  3. Koch, Dan (12 June 2010). "Sweet relief as Gold Coast Titans foil Manly". The Australian.
  4. "Eels give Titans thrashing". Sydney Morning Herald.
  5. http://www.titans.com.au/news/2016/10/20/season_highlight_rya.html
  6. "It's BS Gold Coast Titans skipper Ryan James fires up in defence of neil henry". Sydney Morning Herald.
  7. "Hayne wins out as Neil Henry sacked". Sporting News.
  8. "NRL coach Neil Henry sacked by Gold Coast Titans". The Guardian.
  9. "Gold Coast Titans announce sacking of Neil Henry". Fox Sports.
  10. "Ryan James re-signs with NRL Gold Coast Titans until 2020". Fox Sports. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  11. "Gold Coast Titans 2018 season review". NRL.
  12. "The Titans are full of 'hot air'. Their latest blunder proves it". Adelaide Now.
  13. "Gold Coast Titans sack coach Garth Brennan". The Guardian.
  14. "'I'm lost': Fans rally around Ryan James after embarrassing Grand Final gaffe". Fox Sports.
  15. "'Weak and cowardly': A six-figure sponsor dumped the Titans. They blamed it on Ryan James". Fox Sports Australia. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  16. "Gold Coast Titans get sponsor TFH back after they apologise to captain Ryan James". ABC.
  17. "Indigenous submission expected by NRL on national anthem boycott". Australian Associated Press. The Guardian. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  18. "Ryan James supports reports of anthem snub for 2020 NRL All Stars match". News.com.au.
  19. "Ryan James suffers recurrence of ACL injury". NRL.
  20. https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/nrl-2020-ryan-james-to-canberra-raiders-contract-gold-coast-titans/news-story/34cceabc25a9365fa96b88303d80b428
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