Jason Donnelly

Jason Donnelly is a New Zealand former 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...

 player who played professionally and represented his country. His position of preference was on the wing.

Early years

Jason Donnelly was born on 28 June 1970. Donnelly was originally an athletics champion and was the New Zealand junior decathlon

Decathlon

The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not...

 champion before rugby league took precedent.

Playing career

A Waikato Rugby League

Waikato Rugby League

Waikato Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of Rugby league in the Waikato region of New Zealand. The WRL are represented by the Waikato rugby league team...

 player, Donnelly started his professional career in England playing for Keighley

Keighley Cougars

Keighley Cougars are a professional rugby league club from Keighley in West Yorkshire, England. As of 2012 they will play in Co-operative Championship having won the Co-operative Championship 1 play off final 32-12 against Workington...

 before moving to Australia. There, Donnelly played most of his career with the St George Dragons, scoring sixteen first grade tries. The Dragons made the Grand Final in both 1992 and 1993. He then later played for the Bulldogs.

In 1993 he because a New Zealand tourist and played in three test matches. While on tour in France he was injured along with Stephen Kearney

Stephen Kearney

Stephen Peter Kearney, ONZM is a professional rugby league football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Parramatta Eels in the NRL as well as the New Zealand national team...

 when a balcony they were on collapsed.

He was linked with the new Auckland Warriors franchise in 1994 but negotiations ultimately fell through and he stayed with the Dragons. In 1997 he moved to the new Adelaide Rams

Adelaide Rams

The Adelaide Rams were an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The team was formed in 1995 for the planned rebel Super League competition, which eventually ran parallel to the rival Australian Rugby League competition in 1997...

 side, playing many games for the club before retiring.

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