Michael Witt
Encyclopedia
Michael Witt is an Australian professional rugby league
footballer who currently plays for the Harlequins RL in the Super League
. He previously played in the National Rugby League
competition and rugby union
in the Air New Zealand Cup
.
where he was a champion junior boxer
and played rugby league for the Newtown Lions in the local junior competition, and he later went on to represent Queensland in rugby league at the Under 15 level in 1999 and the Under 16 level in 2000. During 1999 he was spotted by the Parramatta Eels
as a player with much potential and he was offered a scholarship
by the club, which he accepted, and in the following year he moved to Sydney to join his older brother Steven
at Parramatta, where he spent the next three seasons in the lower grades. During the 2002 season, Witt played in the SG Ball
Grand Final, where his Parramatta team was defeated 18-16 by the Western Suburbs Magpies
. When Parramatta's regular halfback Paul Green
was injured (causing his retirement from the game), Witt was promoted to the team as Green's replacement to make his National Rugby League debut on 2 May 2003. Despite a very promising debut from Witt, Parramatta were soundly beaten 44-12 by the Sydney Roosters
in a Friday night game at Parramatta Stadium
.
later that year, Witt admitted that he felt like he had let the whole Parramatta organisation down with those missed attempts at goal, but he soon quickly overcame this early setback to become one of the form players in the NRL with many commentators impressed with his maturity and the sharpness of his skills. Some of the highlights of his first season included the sideline conversion to seal Parramatta's come-from-behind victory over the North Queensland Cowboys
at Parramatta Stadium, and his first half effort against the South Sydney Rabbitohs
at Aussie Stadium
, where his two classy tries set up Parramatta's easy 34-20 win. Witt scored a haul of 18 points in that match, and was Parramatta's leading pointscorer in 2003 with 104 points from three tries
, 45 goals and two field goal
s. His great first season in the NRL saw him win Parramatta's Rookie of the Year award as well as being selected in the New South Wales
Under 19 team to play Queensland in an interstate representative match. Unfortunately though for Witt, a shoulder
injury
prevented him from playing. He was also among the main contenders for the prestigious Dally M Rookie Of The Year award, which was won by the Melbourne Storm
's Billy Slater
. Witt was rewarded for his great form with a new, lucrative four year contract to stay with Parramatta.
2004 started promisingly with Witt being named in the emerging Queensland State of Origin
squad in the early part of the season. However, he was very surprisingly not selected in first grade until Round 12, despite Parramatta's very poor form until that time and calls from many fans for him to be selected, wondering why Parramatta's Rookie of the Year just twelve months previously now seemed to be out of favour with Parramatta coach Brian Smith
. Witt's return sparked a limited recovery for Parramatta, which included an upset 26-12 victory over eventual Grand Finalists the Sydney Roosters, with Witt's pinpoint accurate bombs resulting in three tries for winger Luke Burt
. But the Eels finished well down the ladder with just nine wins to finish 12th. Adding to the disappointment was Witt receiving a two week suspension for a dangerous throw in a game against the Newcastle Knights
in June. But the most disappointing occurrence of 2004 happened post season, when Parramatta announced that Witt was "not in their first grade plans" for 2005, despite him having another three years to go on his contract. This came just weeks after he turned in a supreme effort against the New Zealand Warriors where he scored 24 points from two tries and eight goals in a 48-18 win at Parramatta Stadium, and had scored 72 points from three tries and 30 goals in his limited appearances during the course of the season. However, upon his release by Parramatta, Witt was very quickly signed by the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
as part of their impressive build-up for the 2005 season and during the 2004-05 off season, Witt employed the tutoring of Australian soccer great Graham Arnold
to further finesse his goalkicking talents.
signings Ben Kennedy
and Brent Kite
, added much needed player strength at Manly in 2005 and the club qualified for its first semi finals series since 1998 and finished in eighth position. For the first half of the season Manly was among the dominant teams of the NRL, and Witt's form correspondingly at five-eighth was some of the best of his career to date, prompting Manly officials to publicly thank Parramatta for releasing him. Among the highlights were excellent performances in the victories over eventual Premiers Wests Tigers
and in the amazing come-from-behind win against the Penrith Panthers
. Penrith led 26-6 early in the second half, before a Witt-inspired Manly team powered home to win 36-26 at Brookvale Oval
. Also during this period, Witt kicked 20 successive goals without a miss. However, Manly found wins hard to come by in the second half of the season, and Witt experienced the same frustrations that plagued his 2004. In a match in July against the Wests Tigers, he received a one week suspension for striking Liam Fulton
. And after a disappointing 36-10 loss to the St George Illawarra Dragons
a few weeks later, Witt was dropped from the first grade squad after being targeted by the big Dragons forwards due to his perceived defensive deficiencies. Manly coach Des Hasler
used a number of forwards at five-eighth in subsequent games, but with very little success, and Witt was drafted back into the side for the semi final against Parramatta. Despite Manly being hopelessly outclassed 46-22 to be eliminated, Witt sent the crowd alight by scoring one of the best tries of 2005, as he weaved through the Parramatta defence and sprinted fifty metres to score under the posts. However, this great moment was marred by yet another two week suspension, this time for a high tackle on Eels hooker Mark Riddell
. Witt was among the leading pointscorers in the NRL for 2005, scoring 140 points from five tries and 60 goals from 19 appearances.
With Witt's two match suspension ruling him ineligible in Manly's two NRL-sanctioned pre-season trial matches for 2006, unproven rookie
Travis Burns was able to take advantage of his absence and was preferred by coach Des Hasler as Manly's regular five-eighth for the season (despite Witt being the incumbent
in that position at the end of 2005), and Witt was given only one start in first grade for the year against Newcastle in Round 17 (following Burns' suspension for one week). Witt performed very credibly in his only appearance, despite Manly's 26-12 loss at Brookvale Oval. Starting the year in the NSWRL Premier League
, Witt's class shone even further in lesser company, playing at both five-eighth and halfback and helping Manly to a number of large victories, with the team finishing fourth and just missed qualifying for the Grand Final. This strong form throughout 2006 led to Witt's selection at five-eighth for the NSW Residents team to play Queensland Residents in a representative match played prior to the third State Of Origin match at the Telstra Dome
in Melbourne
, where Witt steered NSW Residents to a comfortable 28-20 win. He was also the first player in the Premier League competition to score 100 points for the season, a mark he reached in early May, and finished the year with 256 points from 17 tries and 94 goals.
As opportunities at Manly became increasingly limited, Witt signed with the New Zealand Warriors for the 2007 season on a one year contract.
. Witt settled in well within the team and his good early season form impressed club officials enough to quickly extend his contract from the original one-year deal to the end of 2009. Following this win against the Rabbitohs though the Warriors fell into a slump, losing their next five games with Witt being briefly shifted to halfback after the regular no.7 Grant Rovelli
was dropped for poor form. Also during this losing streak Witt received a one week suspension for a dangerous throw on Misi Taulapapa
in the Warriors' narrow loss to Cronulla at Mount Smart Stadium. With the Warriors' designated kicker Tony Martin
being left out of the team that round, Witt assumed the kicking duties. While Tony Martin was back the following week against Penrith, he was injured early in the game, and Witt again assumed the role of goalkicker (and for rest of the season) and finished the game with 20 points from two tries and six goals (his biggest haul in a game since 2005). After landing eight goals from eight attempts, his unbroken run of successful goals in the NRL competition grew to 25 (stretching back to his only first grade appearance in 2006), and was only 10 short of the record set by Bulldogs winger, Hazem El Masri
. However Witt's run ended a week later against the Wests Tigers at 28, after missing a conversion from out wide. Also during 2007, Witt broke Daryl Halligan's record for the best success rate in a season, with his kicking percentage for the year being 92.5% (62 goals from 67 attempts). The previous record set by Halligan was 87.1% in 2000.
In 2009 Witt was expected to face competition for the Five Eighth spot from new signing Joel Moon
. The Warriors told him that they didn't expect to use him in 2009, and he would instead he probably spend the season playing in the NSW Cup for the Auckland Vulcans
. This led Witt to look for a new club and he was linked with the Penrith Panthers
and Melbourne Storm
before he finally decided to switch codes.
, signing with the New Zealand Rugby Union and the Otago Rugby Union. He played in the Air New Zealand Cup
in 2009 . Witt has said he aims to playing international rugby for the All Blacks
.
Witt played for the Taieri Eels in Dunedin Club Competition before making the Otago squad. He made his debut for Otago in a July pre-season match. He went on to play seven games in the Air New Zealand Cup
, six of them from the bench, and kicked one penalty goal.
based Super League
club Crusaders. On 29 January, Witt scored Crusaders first points of 2010, and the first points of Super League XV
with a penalty kick in their 34-6 loss to Leeds Rhinos
. Mid-way through the Super League season, Witt was considered a top contender for player of the year. However, his season was cut short by an injury to his knee.
On 30 June 2011, Witt signed a new 3 year deal keeping him at Crusaders RL until the end of the 2014 season. However, following the demise of the Crusaders, Witt joined Harlequins Rugby League, starting in 2012.
Kestrel Hotel, Manly
(now the Manly Sebel) for the League Of Their Own 2006
calendar that was produced in the style of the famous Dieux du Stade
calendars to raise money for the Koori
Kids foundation, and following this Witt was included in Cosmopolitan
magazine's Boys With Balls '06 feature which profiled 20 of the sexiest footballers of the year from both the NRL and AFL
competitions. He was also the male centrefold for the November 2006 issue of Cleo
magazine, and was featured on the front cover of the Naked Rugby League 2007-08 charity calendar (as well as inside for the month of February 2007) with proceeds from its sales going to the National Breast Cancer
Foundation of Australia.
Witt was also a finalist in the 2007 Adidas Action 3 Sexiest Man in League competition, which was won by Manly fullback Brett Stewart
following a public online and SMS vote, and was featured in the month of January for the accompanying Sexiest Man In League 2008 calendar. In late 2008 Witt was included in both the Rugby League and International editions of the Gods of Football
calendars, a charity initiative to raise funds for the McGrath Foundation
. Witt also appeared in the behind-the-scenes production DVD of the Gods of Football calendars which was released in February 2009.
Witt appeared on the cover and for a five page story in the August 2011 issue of Attitude
Active magazine.
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...
footballer who currently plays for the Harlequins RL in the Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
. He previously played 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...
competition and 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 the Air New Zealand Cup
Air New Zealand Cup
The ITM Cup is New Zealand's annual professional domestic Rugby union competition, taking place from late July through October . It was founded in 2006 with 14 teams, after the National Provincial Championship was split into two separate competitions. The other 12 provincial teams from the NPC...
.
Early career
Growing up in Toowoomba, Witt attended Harristown State High SchoolHarristown State High School
Harristown State High School is a public High School located in Toowoomba, Queensland. It was officially opened in 1955. The school currently has approximately 1500 students and is the largest on the Darling downs.-Sport:...
where he was a champion junior boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and played rugby league for the Newtown Lions in the local junior competition, and he later went on to represent Queensland in rugby league at the Under 15 level in 1999 and the Under 16 level in 2000. During 1999 he was spotted by 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...
as a player with much potential and he was offered a scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
by the club, which he accepted, and in the following year he moved to Sydney to join his older brother Steven
Steve Witt
Steve Witt is a former professional rugby league footballer from Australia. Witt played all of his top-level rugby league for the Newcastle Knights.-NRL career:...
at Parramatta, where he spent the next three seasons in the lower grades. During the 2002 season, Witt played in the SG Ball
S.G. Ball Cup
The S G Ball Cup is a junior rugby league football competition played in New South Wales, played between teams made up of players aged under 18. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League. The competition includes both junior representative teams of NRL and NSW Cup clubs...
Grand Final, where his Parramatta team was defeated 18-16 by the Western Suburbs Magpies
Western Suburbs Magpies
The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia...
. When Parramatta's regular halfback Paul Green
Paul Green (rugby league)
Paul Green is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative halfback, he played for several clubs throughout his career and won the Rothmans Medal in 1995.-Early career:Paul Green was a...
was injured (causing his retirement from the game), Witt was promoted to the team as Green's replacement to make his National Rugby League debut on 2 May 2003. Despite a very promising debut from Witt, Parramatta were soundly beaten 44-12 by the Sydney Roosters
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
in a Friday night game at Parramatta Stadium
Parramatta Stadium
Parramatta Stadium is a sports stadium situated in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia.The stadium is used primarily as the home ground of Australian National Rugby League club the Parramatta Eels...
.
Parramatta Eels (2003-2004)
Before Witt's debut, Parramatta had won just two games from seven in 2003, and were looking very likely to be out of the semi finals race very early on in the season. But Witt sparked the disappointing Eels to life, and the team won ten from their last fourteen games of the season to narrowly miss qualifying for the semi finals. In one of his early games in the NRL he encountered extreme disappointment in missing two crucial, but easy (by his standards) goals which saw Parramatta lose narrowly 18-16 to the New Zealand Warriors. On The Michael Witt Story that aired on The NRL Footy ShowThe NRL Footy Show
The Footy Show is a Logie Award-winning Australian sports variety television programme, shown on the Nine Network and its affiliates. Following the success of the AFL program of the same name, the Nine Network quickly developed a version for the rugby league market. The rugby league version has...
later that year, Witt admitted that he felt like he had let the whole Parramatta organisation down with those missed attempts at goal, but he soon quickly overcame this early setback to become one of the form players in the NRL with many commentators impressed with his maturity and the sharpness of his skills. Some of the highlights of his first season included the sideline conversion to seal Parramatta's come-from-behind victory over the North Queensland Cowboys
North 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...
at Parramatta Stadium, and his first half effort against the South Sydney Rabbitohs
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
at Aussie Stadium
Aussie Stadium
Sydney Football Stadium is located in Moore Park, in Sydney, New South Wales. It was built in 1988, to be the city's premier "rectangular field" for rugby league, rugby union and football for major matches and domestic competition...
, where his two classy tries set up Parramatta's easy 34-20 win. Witt scored a haul of 18 points in that match, and was Parramatta's leading pointscorer in 2003 with 104 points from three tries
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
, 45 goals and two field goal
Field goal (football)
A field goal in American football and Canadian football is a goal that may be scored during general play . Field goals may be scored by a placekick or the now practically extinct drop kick.The drop kick fell out of favor in 1934 when the shape of the ball was changed...
s. His great first season in the NRL saw him win Parramatta's Rookie of the Year award as well as being selected in the New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
Under 19 team to play Queensland in an interstate representative match. Unfortunately though for Witt, a shoulder
Shoulder
The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle , the scapula , and the humerus as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder make up the shoulder joints. The major joint of the shoulder is the glenohumeral joint, which...
injury
Injury
-By cause:*Traumatic injury, a body wound or shock produced by sudden physical injury, as from violence or accident*Other injuries from external physical causes, such as radiation injury, burn injury or frostbite*Injury from infection...
prevented him from playing. He was also among the main contenders for the prestigious Dally M Rookie Of The Year award, which was won by the Melbourne Storm
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....
's Billy Slater
Billy Slater
Billy Slater is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League . An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative fullback, he has played his whole NRL career to date at Melbourne...
. Witt was rewarded for his great form with a new, lucrative four year contract to stay with Parramatta.
2004 started promisingly with Witt being named in the emerging Queensland State of Origin
Rugby League State of Origin
State of Origin is an annual best of three series of rugby league football matches contested by the Maroons and the Blues, who represent the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales respectively...
squad in the early part of the season. However, he was very surprisingly not selected in first grade until Round 12, despite Parramatta's very poor form until that time and calls from many fans for him to be selected, wondering why Parramatta's Rookie of the Year just twelve months previously now seemed to be out of favour with Parramatta coach Brian Smith
Brian Smith (rugby league)
Brian Smith is an Australian coach and former player of rugby league football. He is the current head coach at the Sydney Roosters of the NRL. Smith played for St. George and South Sydney Rabbitohs , appearing in a total of 31 first grade games...
. Witt's return sparked a limited recovery for Parramatta, which included an upset 26-12 victory over eventual Grand Finalists the Sydney Roosters, with Witt's pinpoint accurate bombs resulting in three tries for winger Luke Burt
Luke Burt
Luke Kevin Burt is an Australian professional rugby league player for the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League competition...
. But the Eels finished well down the ladder with just nine wins to finish 12th. Adding to the disappointment was Witt receiving a two week suspension for a dangerous throw in a game against the Newcastle Knights
Newcastle Knights
The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...
in June. But the most disappointing occurrence of 2004 happened post season, when Parramatta announced that Witt was "not in their first grade plans" for 2005, despite him having another three years to go on his contract. This came just weeks after he turned in a supreme effort against the New Zealand Warriors where he scored 24 points from two tries and eight goals in a 48-18 win at Parramatta Stadium, and had scored 72 points from three tries and 30 goals in his limited appearances during the course of the season. However, upon his release by Parramatta, Witt was very quickly signed by the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
as part of their impressive build-up for the 2005 season and during the 2004-05 off season, Witt employed the tutoring of Australian soccer great Graham Arnold
Graham Arnold
Graham James Arnold is a former coach of the Australian national football team. He was appointed to work as an assistant to Frank Farina in 2000. The two replaced Raul Blanco, who was the interim coach in charge after Terry Venables decided not to renew his contract with Soccer Australia after...
to further finesse his goalkicking talents.
Manly Sea Eagles (2005-2006)
Witt, along with fellow blue chipBlue chip (sports)
The term "blue chip" is commonly used to describe athletes who are being targeted to be drafted or signed by teams at the next level. It is most commonly used to describe high school players being recruited by college teams, but can also refer to collegiate players being scouted by professional...
signings Ben Kennedy
Ben Kennedy
Ben Kennedy , is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s...
and Brent Kite
Brent Kite
Brent Kite is an Australian professional rugby league footballer currently playing in the NRL with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. A Tonga and Australia international, and New South Wales State of Origin representative front-row forward, he has played club football for the St. George Illawarra...
, added much needed player strength at Manly in 2005 and the club qualified for its first semi finals series since 1998 and finished in eighth position. For the first half of the season Manly was among the dominant teams of the NRL, and Witt's form correspondingly at five-eighth was some of the best of his career to date, prompting Manly officials to publicly thank Parramatta for releasing him. Among the highlights were excellent performances in the victories over eventual Premiers Wests Tigers
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's mid-western suburbs. They have competed in the National Rugby League since they were formed at the end of the 1999 season as a joint-venture club between the Balmain Tigers and the Western Suburbs...
and in the amazing come-from-behind win against the Penrith Panthers
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan...
. Penrith led 26-6 early in the second half, before a Witt-inspired Manly team powered home to win 36-26 at Brookvale Oval
Brookvale Oval
Brookvale Oval is a sporting ground located within Brookvale Park at Brookvale, New South Wales, Australia. The ground is owned by Warringah Council and is primarily used by the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles rugby league team...
. Also during this period, Witt kicked 20 successive goals without a miss. However, Manly found wins hard to come by in the second half of the season, and Witt experienced the same frustrations that plagued his 2004. In a match in July against the Wests Tigers, he received a one week suspension for striking Liam Fulton
Liam Fulton
Liam Mark Fulton is an Australian professional rugby league footballer. He play for the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League competition. Fulton primarily plays at lock....
. And after a disappointing 36-10 loss to 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...
a few weeks later, Witt was dropped from the first grade squad after being targeted by the big Dragons forwards due to his perceived defensive deficiencies. Manly coach Des Hasler
Des Hasler
Des Hasler is an Australian former professional rugby league player and current head coach of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. He played in 309 matches in a first-grade career spanning 16 seasons. Most of his career was spent with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, with whom he won two premierships...
used a number of forwards at five-eighth in subsequent games, but with very little success, and Witt was drafted back into the side for the semi final against Parramatta. Despite Manly being hopelessly outclassed 46-22 to be eliminated, Witt sent the crowd alight by scoring one of the best tries of 2005, as he weaved through the Parramatta defence and sprinted fifty metres to score under the posts. However, this great moment was marred by yet another two week suspension, this time for a high tackle on Eels hooker Mark Riddell
Mark Riddell
Mark Robert Riddell is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 2000s and 2010s...
. Witt was among the leading pointscorers in the NRL for 2005, scoring 140 points from five tries and 60 goals from 19 appearances.
With Witt's two match suspension ruling him ineligible in Manly's two NRL-sanctioned pre-season trial matches for 2006, unproven rookie
Rookie
Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...
Travis Burns was able to take advantage of his absence and was preferred by coach Des Hasler as Manly's regular five-eighth for the season (despite Witt being the incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
in that position at the end of 2005), and Witt was given only one start in first grade for the year against Newcastle in Round 17 (following Burns' suspension for one week). Witt performed very credibly in his only appearance, despite Manly's 26-12 loss at Brookvale Oval. Starting the year in the NSWRL Premier League
NSWRL Premier League
The New South Wales Cup is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales previously known as the NSWRL Premier League. It has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve grade competition. It is now the premier open age competition in the state...
, Witt's class shone even further in lesser company, playing at both five-eighth and halfback and helping Manly to a number of large victories, with the team finishing fourth and just missed qualifying for the Grand Final. This strong form throughout 2006 led to Witt's selection at five-eighth for the NSW Residents team to play Queensland Residents in a representative match played prior to the third State Of Origin match at the Telstra Dome
Telstra Dome
Docklands Stadium is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands precinct of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, where Witt steered NSW Residents to a comfortable 28-20 win. He was also the first player in the Premier League competition to score 100 points for the season, a mark he reached in early May, and finished the year with 256 points from 17 tries and 94 goals.
As opportunities at Manly became increasingly limited, Witt signed with the New Zealand Warriors for the 2007 season on a one year contract.
New Zealand Warriors (2007-2009)
Witt arrived at his new club in November 2006 determined to re-establish himself as a regular NRL player after the lean season he'd just had at Manly, and strong performances in the three trial matches at five-eighth saw Witt earn a spot for the opening round game for 2007 against Parramatta, where the Warriors eased to a resounding 34-18 win. In the following weeks, the Warriors continued their year in impressive fashion, winning five of their first seven games with the fifth win coming in the final seconds against South Sydney courtesy of a radar-like controlled kick from Witt that set up a try for winger Todd ByrneTodd Byrne
Todd Byrne is a professional rugby league player who currently plays for Hull in the Super League competition...
. Witt settled in well within the team and his good early season form impressed club officials enough to quickly extend his contract from the original one-year deal to the end of 2009. Following this win against the Rabbitohs though the Warriors fell into a slump, losing their next five games with Witt being briefly shifted to halfback after the regular no.7 Grant Rovelli
Grant Rovelli
Grant Rovelli is an Australian rugby league player. From 2006 to 2010 he played in the National Rugby League for the New Zealand Warriors and the North Queensland Cowboys. He is of Italian descent and has represented Italy's national rugby league team...
was dropped for poor form. Also during this losing streak Witt received a one week suspension for a dangerous throw on Misi Taulapapa
Misi Taulapapa
Misi Taulapapa is a New Zealand rugby league player who currently plays for the Sheffield Eagles in the Co-operative Rugby League competition. He has previously played professionally in Australia and England...
in the Warriors' narrow loss to Cronulla at Mount Smart Stadium. With the Warriors' designated kicker Tony Martin
Tony Martin (rugby league)
Tony Martin is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays for Hull FC in the Super League he previously played for Crusaders Rugby League and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats in the Super League...
being left out of the team that round, Witt assumed the kicking duties. While Tony Martin was back the following week against Penrith, he was injured early in the game, and Witt again assumed the role of goalkicker (and for rest of the season) and finished the game with 20 points from two tries and six goals (his biggest haul in a game since 2005). After landing eight goals from eight attempts, his unbroken run of successful goals in the NRL competition grew to 25 (stretching back to his only first grade appearance in 2006), and was only 10 short of the record set by Bulldogs winger, Hazem El Masri
Hazem El Masri
Hazem El Masri is a Lebanese-Australian retired professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. An Australia and Lebanon international, and New South Wales State of Origin representative winger, he played his entire club football career with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs with...
. However Witt's run ended a week later against the Wests Tigers at 28, after missing a conversion from out wide. Also during 2007, Witt broke Daryl Halligan's record for the best success rate in a season, with his kicking percentage for the year being 92.5% (62 goals from 67 attempts). The previous record set by Halligan was 87.1% in 2000.
In 2009 Witt was expected to face competition for the Five Eighth spot from new signing Joel Moon
Joel Moon
Joel Moon is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Salford City Reds of Super League...
. The Warriors told him that they didn't expect to use him in 2009, and he would instead he probably spend the season playing in the NSW Cup 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...
. This led Witt to look for a new club and he was linked with the Penrith Panthers
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan...
and Melbourne Storm
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....
before he finally decided to switch codes.
Rugby Union (2009)
In March 2009 Witt switched to rugby unionRugby 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...
, signing with the New Zealand Rugby Union and the Otago Rugby Union. He played in the Air New Zealand Cup
Air New Zealand Cup
The ITM Cup is New Zealand's annual professional domestic Rugby union competition, taking place from late July through October . It was founded in 2006 with 14 teams, after the National Provincial Championship was split into two separate competitions. The other 12 provincial teams from the NPC...
in 2009 . Witt has said he aims to playing international rugby for the All Blacks
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
.
Witt played for the Taieri Eels in Dunedin Club Competition before making the Otago squad. He made his debut for Otago in a July pre-season match. He went on to play seven games in the Air New Zealand Cup
Air New Zealand Cup
The ITM Cup is New Zealand's annual professional domestic Rugby union competition, taking place from late July through October . It was founded in 2006 with 14 teams, after the National Provincial Championship was split into two separate competitions. The other 12 provincial teams from the NPC...
, six of them from the bench, and kicked one penalty goal.
Return to Rugby League (2010-)
In December 2009 it was announced that Witt had decided to return to rugby league, signing with WalesWales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
based Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
club Crusaders. On 29 January, Witt scored Crusaders first points of 2010, and the first points of Super League XV
Super League XV
The 2010 Super League season was the fifteenth season of rugby league football since the Super League format was introduced in 1996. Fourteen teams competed for the League Leader's Shield over 27 rounds . All clubs also participated in the 2010 Challenge Cup tournament...
with a penalty kick in their 34-6 loss to Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
. Mid-way through the Super League season, Witt was considered a top contender for player of the year. However, his season was cut short by an injury to his knee.
On 30 June 2011, Witt signed a new 3 year deal keeping him at Crusaders RL until the end of the 2014 season. However, following the demise of the Crusaders, Witt joined Harlequins Rugby League, starting in 2012.
Off the field and charity work
Witt's boy next door good looks have seen him appear in various rugby league charity calendars and magazines. In late 2005, Witt was photographed naked at the RadissonRadisson Hotels
Radisson Hotels is one of the leading, full-service global hotel companies with more than 420 locations in 73 countries. The first Radisson Hotel was built in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1909, and was named after the 17th-century French explorer Pierre-Esprit Radisson...
Kestrel Hotel, Manly
Manly, New South Wales
Manly is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Manly is located 17 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of Manly Council, in the Northern Beaches region.-History:Manly was named...
(now the Manly Sebel) for the League Of Their Own 2006
League Of Their Own 2006
League Of Their Own 2006 is a black-and-white nude calendar featuring 12 of the Australian rugby league players from the National Rugby League competition...
calendar that was produced in the style of the famous Dieux du Stade
Dieux du Stade
Dieux du Stade is the title of two books and several calendars and DVDs first published in 2001, featuring nude and semi-nude photographs of members of Stade Français, a Paris-based domestic French rugby team...
calendars to raise money for the Koori
Koori
The Koori are the indigenous Australians that traditionally occupied modern day New South Wales and Victoria....
Kids foundation, and following this Witt was included in Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
magazine's Boys With Balls '06 feature which profiled 20 of the sexiest footballers of the year from both the NRL and AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
competitions. He was also the male centrefold for the November 2006 issue of Cleo
Cleo (magazine)
CLEO is an Australian, New Zealand, South African, Malaysian, Singaporean, Thailand and Indonesian women's magazine.Aimed at an older audience than the teenage-focused Dolly, the magazine is known for its CLEO Bachelor of the Year award....
magazine, and was featured on the front cover of the Naked Rugby League 2007-08 charity calendar (as well as inside for the month of February 2007) with proceeds from its sales going to the National Breast Cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
Foundation of Australia.
Witt was also a finalist in the 2007 Adidas Action 3 Sexiest Man in League competition, which was won by Manly fullback Brett Stewart
Brett Stewart
Brett Stewart is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League. He is an Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative fullback known for pace and his prolific try-scoring...
following a public online and SMS vote, and was featured in the month of January for the accompanying Sexiest Man In League 2008 calendar. In late 2008 Witt was included in both the Rugby League and International editions of the Gods of Football
Gods Of Football
Gods of Football, part of Naked For A Cause initiative featured some of the sexiest Australian rules football players and Australian Rugby League players. The campaign was organized for producing an accompaying nude calendar to raise money for the McGrath Foundation, which supports breast cancer...
calendars, a charity initiative to raise funds for the McGrath Foundation
McGrath Foundation
The McGrath Foundation is a breast cancer support and education charity in Australia, funding McGrath Breast Care Nurses in communities across Australia as well as educating young women to be breast-aware...
. Witt also appeared in the behind-the-scenes production DVD of the Gods of Football calendars which was released in February 2009.
Witt appeared on the cover and for a five page story in the August 2011 issue of Attitude
Attitude (magazine)
Attitude is a British gay lifestyle magazine owned by Vitality Publishing. It is sold worldwide as a physical magazine and a digital download for the iPad and iPhone via the App Store. The first issue appeared in May 1994....
Active magazine.