Denan Kemp
Encyclopedia
Denan Kemp is an Australian professional rugby football
er who currently plays rugby league
for the St George Illawarra Dragons
in the National Rugby League
(NRL). A speedy winger, he has previously played in the NRL for the Brisbane Broncos
and the New Zealand Warriors
before a brief stint in rugby union
in 2011, playing for Southern Districts
in the Shute Shield
competition. He is of New Zealand
descent.
, Kemp was spotted by scouts for the Brisbane Broncos
and convinced to convert to rugby league. Kemp attended St Michaels College while pursuing his rugby league dream. Kemp went on to play rugby league with the Brisbane Wests
in the Queensland Cup
before joining Brisbane Broncos feeder club, the Toowoomba Clydesdales
. He then was transferred to the Aspley Broncos
in 2007 by the Brisbane Broncos.
debut for the Broncos in Round 10, 2007 against the Manly Sea Eagles. During the game Kemp scored an individual 75 metre try. This try was voted as the third best of the 2007 season by NRL.com. In 2007 Kemp ran the quickest 40m sprint time in the clubs history recording 4.85sec and hitting speeds up to 34 km/h.
In 2008 Denan Kemp started the season strongly coming up with 4 tries in his first 3 games. He went on to play twenty four games for the club in 2008. In Round 12 he scored 4 tries while playing against the Parramatta Eels
, equaling a club record that he now shares with Lote Tuqiri and Steve Renouf
. The record came just hours after he had announced that he was joining the New Zealand Warriors
for the 2009 season. When not selected for the first grade side, Kemp turned out for the Norths Devils
in the Queensland Cup
.
Denan was Brisbane's top try-scorer in 2008 and named the club's rookie of the year.
announced that they had signed Kemp for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Whilst at the Warriors he took on goal-kicking responsibilities for the club for the first half of the 2009 season.
In Round 2, 2009, Kemp kicked the match winning conversion from the sideline to defeat the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles with 28 seconds left. However for much of the season Kemp could not break into the first grade side, instead he was assigned to Otahuhu
and played for the Auckland Vulcans
in the NSW Cup. Near the end of the season he asked for a release so he could return to Queensland to rebuild his National Rugby League career. Kemp played in ten games for the Warriors, scoring 46 points.
, he scored the final try which won the game for the Broncos 30-24. Unfortunately Kemp suffered a dislocated rib and a collapsed lung from the Knights game and spent the rest of the 2010 season injured. He signed a 6 year contract with the Broncos. He played for the Wynnum Manly Seagulls in the 2011 Queensland Cup
, before joining the Australian Rugby Union
in April 2011.
and was a part of the Australian Sevens squad that traveled to London for the IRB Sevens
.
Kemp turned out during the 2011 season for the Southern Districts Rugby Club
side in Sydney's Shute Shield
.
in 2012.
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
er who currently plays rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
for the St George Illawarra Dragons
St George Illawarra Dragons
The St George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing the St. George and Illawarra regions. They have competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 as a joint venture between Sydney's historic St. George Dragons club and 1982 expansion club, the...
in the National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
(NRL). A speedy winger, he has previously played in the NRL for the Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...
and the New Zealand Warriors
New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership and are the League's only team from outside Australia...
before a brief stint in rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
in 2011, playing for Southern Districts
Southern Districts Rugby Club
Southern Districts Rugby Club is a rugby union club based in southern Sydney, New South Wales. The club currently competes in the New South Wales Rugby Union competitions, the Shute Shield and Tooheys New Cup...
in the Shute Shield
Shute Shield
The Shute Shield is a rugby union competition in Sydney, New South Wales. It is the premier grade rugby trophy in NSW rugby. The Shute Shield is awarded at the end of the Sydney Club Rugby season to the team that wins the Grand Final...
competition. He is of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
descent.
Early years
Originally a soccer player for Gold Coast premier club, Mudgeeraba SCMudgeeraba
Mudgeeraba is a suburb of the Gold Coast. Mudgeeraba is remnant of the type of township that characterises the rural hinterland of the Gold Coast. Subdivision of land was conventional and buildings were traditionally rural or rural commercial. Mudgeeraba, like other areas, was an early centre,...
, Kemp was spotted by scouts for the Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...
and convinced to convert to rugby league. Kemp attended St Michaels College while pursuing his rugby league dream. Kemp went on to play rugby league with the Brisbane Wests
Wests Panthers
The Western Suburbs Panthers, often simply referred to as Wests, are a rugby league club from Brisbane, Australia. The Club is the oldest in the QRL and despite absences from the top grade in recent years and several name changes the club continued to operate...
in the Queensland Cup
Queensland Cup
The Queensland Cup is the premier rugby league football competition in the State of Queensland, Australia.It is a statewide competition with the majority of teams based in South East Queensland but also including sides based in Cairns, Mackay and Rockhampton.The competition began in 1996 as a...
before joining Brisbane Broncos feeder club, the Toowoomba Clydesdales
Toowoomba Clydesdales
The Toowoomba Clydesdales are a rugby league football club based in Toowoomba, Queensland, named after the Scottish horse breed. They played in the Queensland Wizard Cup since the competition began in 1996 but no longer play in this competition....
. He then was transferred to the Aspley Broncos
Aspley Broncos
The Aspley Broncos are a rugby league club in Brisbane, Australia. Aspley competes in the FOGS Cup and FOGS Colts Challenge competitions...
in 2007 by the Brisbane Broncos.
Broncos
Denan made his first gradeNational Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
debut for the Broncos in Round 10, 2007 against the Manly Sea Eagles. During the game Kemp scored an individual 75 metre try. This try was voted as the third best of the 2007 season by NRL.com. In 2007 Kemp ran the quickest 40m sprint time in the clubs history recording 4.85sec and hitting speeds up to 34 km/h.
In 2008 Denan Kemp started the season strongly coming up with 4 tries in his first 3 games. He went on to play twenty four games for the club in 2008. In Round 12 he scored 4 tries while playing against the Parramatta Eels
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
, equaling a club record that he now shares with Lote Tuqiri and Steve Renouf
Steve Renouf
Stephen Renouf is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s, 90s and 2000s. Of Aboriginal and European descent, he was known as one of the sport's greatest centres. Renouf set numerous records for the Brisbane Broncos club and is considered one of the greatest...
. The record came just hours after he had announced that he was joining the New Zealand Warriors
New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership and are the League's only team from outside Australia...
for the 2009 season. When not selected for the first grade side, Kemp turned out for the Norths Devils
Norths Devils
The Northern Suburbs Devils, Norths for short, are a rugby league club representing the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. The team colours are sky blue, navy blue and gold. They play in the Queensland Wizard Cup, and, through their predecessors, are one of the oldest clubs in...
in the Queensland Cup
Queensland Cup
The Queensland Cup is the premier rugby league football competition in the State of Queensland, Australia.It is a statewide competition with the majority of teams based in South East Queensland but also including sides based in Cairns, Mackay and Rockhampton.The competition began in 1996 as a...
.
Denan was Brisbane's top try-scorer in 2008 and named the club's rookie of the year.
Warriors
On May 28 the New Zealand WarriorsNew Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership and are the League's only team from outside Australia...
announced that they had signed Kemp for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Whilst at the Warriors he took on goal-kicking responsibilities for the club for the first half of the 2009 season.
In Round 2, 2009, Kemp kicked the match winning conversion from the sideline to defeat the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles with 28 seconds left. However for much of the season Kemp could not break into the first grade side, instead he was assigned to Otahuhu
Otahuhu Leopards
The Otahuhu Leopards are a rugby league club based in Otahuhu, New Zealand. The club competes in the Fox Memorial competition run by the Auckland Rugby League. They are coached by Peter Caccioppoli. Between 2000 and 2003 they also competed in the Bartercard Cup.The team are the current holders of...
and played for the Auckland Vulcans
Auckland Vulcans
The Auckland Vulcans are an Auckland based rugby league club that participates in the New South Wales Cup. They are administered by the Rugby League Development Foundation. The team is selected from the Auckland Rugby League's Fox Memorial Competition and also uses Warriors squad members not...
in the NSW Cup. Near the end of the season he asked for a release so he could return to Queensland to rebuild his National Rugby League career. Kemp played in ten games for the Warriors, scoring 46 points.
Return to Brisbane
On September 16, 2009 Kemp announced that he has re-signed with the Brisbane Broncos for the 2010 season, after being granted an early release from the final year of his contract with the NZ Warriors. Kemp has showed interest in claiming the number one fullback jersey left vacant by the AFL bound Karmichael Hunt. In Round 1 2010 against the North Queensland CowboysNorth Queensland Cowboys
The North Queensland Cowboys are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, Queensland. They compete in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...
, he scored the final try which won the game for the Broncos 30-24. Unfortunately Kemp suffered a dislocated rib and a collapsed lung from the Knights game and spent the rest of the 2010 season injured. He signed a 6 year contract with the Broncos. He played for the Wynnum Manly Seagulls in the 2011 Queensland Cup
Queensland Cup
The Queensland Cup is the premier rugby league football competition in the State of Queensland, Australia.It is a statewide competition with the majority of teams based in South East Queensland but also including sides based in Cairns, Mackay and Rockhampton.The competition began in 1996 as a...
, before joining the Australian Rugby Union
Australian Rugby Union
The Australian Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Australia. It was founded in 1949 and is a member of the International Rugby Board the sport's governing body. It consists of eight member unions, representing each state and territory...
in April 2011.
Rugby Union
In April 2011 Kemp signed a contract with the Australian Rugby UnionAustralian Rugby Union
The Australian Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Australia. It was founded in 1949 and is a member of the International Rugby Board the sport's governing body. It consists of eight member unions, representing each state and territory...
and was a part of the Australian Sevens squad that traveled to London for the IRB Sevens
2011 London Sevens
The 2011 London Sevens was a rugby union sevens tournament, part of the 2010–11 IRB Sevens World Series. The competition was held from May 21–22 at Twickenham Stadium in England and featured 16 teams....
.
Kemp turned out during the 2011 season for the Southern Districts Rugby Club
Southern Districts Rugby Club
Southern Districts Rugby Club is a rugby union club based in southern Sydney, New South Wales. The club currently competes in the New South Wales Rugby Union competitions, the Shute Shield and Tooheys New Cup...
side in Sydney's Shute Shield
Shute Shield
The Shute Shield is a rugby union competition in Sydney, New South Wales. It is the premier grade rugby trophy in NSW rugby. The Shute Shield is awarded at the end of the Sydney Club Rugby season to the team that wins the Grand Final...
.
Dragons
On 20 November 2011, Denan Kemp signed for a one year for the St George Illawarra DragonsSt George Illawarra Dragons
The St George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing the St. George and Illawarra regions. They have competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 as a joint venture between Sydney's historic St. George Dragons club and 1982 expansion club, the...
in 2012.