Nathan Merritt
Encyclopedia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n professional 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...
footballer for 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...
of 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...
. He has also previously played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. His position of choice is either on the wing or at fullback. Merritt is an Indigenous Australian who grew up on The Block
The Block (Sydney)
The Block is a colloquial but universally applied name given to a block of housing in Redfern Sydney. The block was purchased over a period of 30 years by the Aboriginal Housing Company for use as a project in Aboriginal-managed housing....
, Redfern. He jointly holds the Souths' record for the most tries in an NRL match with 5 in a 56-6 demolition of the Parramatta Eels on 8 August 2011.
2002-2003
His first-grade debut was for the South Sydney RabbitohsSouth 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...
against 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...
at Ericsson Stadium
Mt Smart Stadium
Mt Smart Stadium, formerly Ericsson Stadium, is a stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the home ground of National Rugby League team, the New Zealand Warriors...
in round 9 of the 2002 NRL season and scored a try.
2004-2005
At the end of the 2003 season Merritt agreed to terms with the Cronulla Sharks where he was to play for the next two years. In the 2005 season, Merritt endured a tough year. He played only three first grade games for the Cronulla SharksCronulla Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are Australian professional Rugby league team based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales...
, but was a stand-out player in the lower grade 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...
matches for the Newtown Jets
Newtown Jets
The Newtown Jets are an Australian rugby league football club based in Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west. They currently compete in the NSWRL Premier League competition, having left the top grade after the 1983 NSWRFL season...
, scoring almost 300 points for the year. His outstanding showing that year was rewarded when his old club 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...
offered him a two-year contract to play 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...
.
2006-present
In 2006, Merritt re-joined the Rabbitohs after a brief stint at the Cronulla SharksCronulla Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are Australian professional Rugby league team based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales...
. He was a stand-out performer in an underachieving side all year, and was one of only three players to play all 24 games for the Rabbitohs that year. In September the same year, Nathan's hard work and great performances through the year culminated in the announcement that Nathan had earned his first representative honour, to play for the Prime Minister's XIII
Prime Minister's XIII
Prime Minister's XIII or the PM's XIII is the name of a representative rugby league team selected on an annual basis by the Prime Minister of Australia that consists of mainly young Australian players drawn from the National Rugby League competition to take on the Papua New Guinea national rugby...
. Merritt was the only South Sydney player to be included in the squad. The Australian team beat the Papua New Guinean team
Papua New Guinea national rugby league team
The Papua New Guinea national rugby league team represents Papua New Guinea internationally in the sport of rugby league football.In Papua New Guinea, Rugby league is highly popular and is regarded as the country’s national sport. The national side are known as the Kumuls...
28-8, with Merritt one of the try-scorers. He was also included in the train-on squad for the Kangaroos
Australian national rugby league team
The Australian national rugby league team have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competition since the establishment of the game in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian Rugby League, the Kangaroos' are ranked number one in the RLIF World Rankings...
squad for the Tri-Nations tournament against England
England national rugby league team
The England national rugby league team represent England in international rugby league football tournaments. The team has now seen a revival, having largely formed from the Great Britain team, who also represented Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The team is run under the auspices of the Rugby Football...
and New Zealand
New Zealand national rugby league team
The New Zealand national rugby league team has represented New Zealand in rugby league football since intercontinental competition began for the sport in 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name...
, but missed out on a starting position.
He was the highest try scorer for the 2006 season with 22 tries, beating Manly Sea Eagles' star 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...
who scored 20. It was the first time in rugby league history that the leading tryscorer in a season came from the club that ran last that year. His great try-scoring form lead to him being selected for the Prime Minister's XIII to play against Papua New Guinea.
Following the announcement of the City Origin
City vs Country Origin
City vs Country is an annual Australian rugby league football match that takes place in New South Wales between City and Country representative sides. The City side represents the Sydney metropolitan area...
squad in 2007, Merritt hinted that his non-selection was possibly due to "a Souths thing or a racial thing". This comment was lambasted and in rebuttal to this comment critics pointed to the selection of Fijian Jarryd Hayne and Lebanese player Hasem El Masri as evidence that selections had not been racially motivated.
On August 8, 2011 Merritt equaled the South Sydney club record of 5 tries in a match when he scored five 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...
at ANZ Stadium in a 56-6 win joining greats such as Harold Horder
Harold Horder
Harold Norman Horder was an Australian rugby league player a national and state representative player whose club career was with the South Sydney Rabbitohs and North Sydney Bears between 1912 and 1924...
, Johnny Graves and Ian Moir
Ian Moir
Ian Moir was an Australian rugby league player, a champion wing three-quarter of the 1950s for the South Sydney Rabbitohs. He made eight Test appearances for the Australian national representative side and represented in four World Cup matches in two World Cups and in 14 Kangaroo tour...
to have scored five tries in a match for the Rabbits. He followed this up just eight days later with a three try performance against Canberra
Canberra Raiders
The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership since 1982...
at Canberra Stadium
Canberra Stadium
Canberra Stadium is a facility primarily used for rugby league and rugby union games, located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the capital of Australia...
, in doing so he became the first player since Brett Mullins
Brett Mullins
Brett Mullins is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and early 2000s. He played for the Canberra Raiders between the years 1990 and 2000. He also represented New South Wales and Australia national rugby league team during his career. He is the son of former...
in 1994 to score eight tries within eight days in the NRL. Merritt's haul also saw him become clear leading try scorer for the 2011 NRL season
2011 NRL season
The 2011 NRL season was the 105th season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the fourteenth run by the National Rugby League. The NRL's main championship, called the 2011 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra, was contested by sixteen teams for the...
with 21 from 21 games, six tries more than Canterbury Bulldogs
Canterbury Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, as well as New South Wales Rugby League junior competitions...
player Ben Barba
Ben Barba
Ben Barba was born in Darwin, Northern Territory, is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs of the National Rugby League and is a utility back....
with four rounds left to play before the Finals. After the regular season Merritt finished on 23 tries for the year, a personal best with his previous best being 22 in 2006. After his brilliant form Merritt was selected in the Australian squad to play against Papua New Guinea for the Prime Minister's XIII.
Music
In 2007, Merritt, with the Sydney Roosters' Amos RobertsAmos Roberts
Amos Roberts is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for English club Wigan Warriors of Super League. A country New South Wales representative prolific try-scoring back, he previously played in Australasia's National Rugby League for the St...
, appeared in the music video for Anthony Mundine
Anthony Mundine
Anthony Mundine is an Australian professional boxer and former rugby league footballer.He is the current interim WBA Light Middleweight Champion boxer, former two-time WBA Super Middleweight Champion, former IBO Middleweight Champion and New South Wales State of Origin representative footballer....
's Platinum Ryder single. It is rumoured that Merritt is recording an album with Mundine called It's an Abo World. US rap artist Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
- said to be a Rabbitohs fan - has named Merrit as his favourite NRL player.