Trent Merrin

Trent Merrin (born 7 October 1989) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a lock, prop and second-row for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League and Australia at international level.

Trent Merrin
Personal information
Born (1989-10-07) 7 October 1989
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height181 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight98 kg (15 st 6 lb)
Playing information
PositionLock, Prop, Second-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2009–15 St. George Illawarra 134 12 0 0 48
2016–18 Penrith Panthers 72 8 0 0 32
2019 Leeds Rhinos 27 4 0 0 16
2020– St. George Illawarra 11 0 0 0 0
Total 244 24 0 0 96
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2011–13 NSW Country 3 0 0 0 0
2011–15 New South Wales 13 1 0 0 4
2015 NRL All Stars 3 0 0 0 0
2015–17 Australia 7 1 0 0 4
2015 Prime Minister's XIII 1 0 0 0 0
As of 8 September 2019
Source: [1][2]

He previously played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons, with whom he won the 2010 NRL Grand Final, and the Penrith Panthers in the NRL. Merrin has also played for NSW Country, New South Wales, NRL All Stars and the Prime Minister's XIII sides.

Background

Merrin was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Merrin originally played junior rugby league with Marrickville RSL while living in Sydenham.[3] Merrin then moved with his family in his early teens from Sydney to the Illawarra. He then played rugby league with the Port Kembla Blacks and the Shellharbour Sharks. Merrin claims another Shellharbour legend, Australian representative Luke Bailey, was "one of [his] idols growing up".[4]

Playing career

In 2008, Merrin played for St. George Illawarra under-20s team in the Toyota Cup, scoring two tries for the season. He was selected as St. George's Toyota Cup Player of the Year in 2008.

In 2009, he was selected to play first grade for St. George Illawarra, being chosen on the interchange bench. He made his first grade debut for the club in round 12 of the 2009 NRL season against Penrith at WIN Stadium.[5] He made three appearances in his debut season for St. George as the club won the Minor Premiership but lost both matches in the finals series.

He was a prominent squad member of the 2010 premiership-winning St. George Illawarra team, and came from the bench to play in the 2010 NRL Grand Final. In May 2011, he was selected on the bench for New South Wales for game 1 of the 2011 State of Origin series. He was selected for the second match but was then dropped for the third. On 2 March 2015, Merrin signed a five-year contract with the Penrith Panthers, starting in 2016.[6]

On 15 September 2015, it was announced that Merrin would captain a representative team for the first time. On 26 September 2015, he led the Prime Minister's XIII in their 2015 clash with Papua New Guinea.[7][8]

Merrin was a part of the Penrith sides which made the finals series in 2016, 2017 and 2018 bowing out at the second week on each occasion.[9][10][11]

After departing Penrith, Merrin signed a contract to join English Super League team Leeds. After just one season with Leeds, it was announced that Merrin was returning to Australia on compassionate grounds. On November 29, 2019, it was revealed that Merrin had signed a two-year deal with St. George Illawarra.[12][13]

Personal life

He was engaged to world class surfer Sally Fitzgibbons.[14]

Merrin is in a long term relationship with Jessica Watson and the couple had their first child in March 2020.[15]

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References
  1. "Trent Merrin - Player Stats". Love Rugby League.
  2. "Trent Merrin - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project.
  3. Massoud, Josh (17 July 2012). "South Sydney Snub Fites Up Young Dragon Trent Merrin". The Advertiser. Retrieved 30 April 2017 – via Daily Telegraph.
  4. Chammas, Michael (10 March 2011). "Luke Bailey is Trent Merrin's target". Illawarra Mercury. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  5. "Merrin named for NRL debut". St George Illawarra Dragons. 31 March 2009. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  6. "Trent Merrin signs with Panthers". Zero Tackle. 2 March 2015. Archived from the original on 21 April 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  7. "Merrin to lead Prime Minister's XIII". NRL.com. 15 September 2015. Archived from the original on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  8. "Trent Merrin named as Prime Minister's XIII captain for Papua New Guinea clash". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 15 September 2015. Archived from the original on 15 September 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  9. Chammas, Michael (18 September 2016). "NRL finals 2016: Canberra Raiders vs Penrith Panthers | PHOTOS, REPORT". Illawarra Mercury.
  10. Lutton, Phil (15 September 2017). "NRL Finals 2017: Penrith Panthers end season on a frustrating night as Brisbane Broncos prepare to meet Melbourne Storm". Sydney Morning Herald.
  11. Newton, Alicia (25 October 2018). "Penrith Panthers 2018 season review". NRL.com.
  12. "Matt Prior: Leeds Rhinos sign forward as captain Trent Merrin leaves on compassionate grounds". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 29 November 2019.
  13. "Rugby League news: Toronto Wolfpack tie down ten, Jarrod Sammut on the move, Trent Merrin 'completes St George switch'". Hull Daily Mail. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019.
  14. Walshaw, Nick (16 April 2015). "Dragons star Trent Merrin on his NRL career, Sally Fitzgibbons, the big rep – nothing has come easy". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  15. "NRL's shutdown babies and engagements as players keep busy". Queensland Times. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
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