Ben Spina

Ben Spina
Personal information
Born (1988-04-26) 26 April 1988
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia[1]
Height 186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 100 kg (15 st 10 lb)
Playing information
Position Second-row, Lock

Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2014–17 North Queensland 16 3 0 0 12
As of 25 February 2018
Source: [2]

Ben Spina (born 26 April 1988) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who previously played for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League. He plays at second-row and lock.

Background

Born in Sydney while his father, Laurie, was playing for Eastern Suburbs, Spina grew up in Ingham, Queensland and played his junior football for the Herbert River Crushers before being signed by the North Queensland Cowboys. In 2008, Spina played for the Cowboys' NYC team.[3]

In 2009, Spina joined the Northern Pride RLFC in the Queensland Cup. In 2011, Spina signed a 3-year contract with the North Queensland Cowboys starting in 2012. In 2012 and 2013, Spina won the Northern Pride RLFC Player of the Year awards. In 2013, Spina played for the Queensland Residents.[4] In 2014, Spina was again selected for the Queensland Residents,[5] but had to withdraw due to being called up for his NRL debut.[6]

Playing career

2014

In Round 17 of the 2014 NRL season, Spina made his NRL debut for the Cowboys against the St. George Illawarra Dragons.[7]

Spina was a member of the Northern Pride's Grand Final winning Queensland Cup and 2014 NRL State Championship winning sides.

On 9 October 2014, Spina re-signed with the Cowboys on a 1-year contract.[8]

2015

On 10 June 2015, Spina re-signed with the Cowboys on a 2-year contract.[9]

2016

On 5 May, Spina was named on the interchange bench in QRL journalist Tony Webeck's Queensland Residents team of the past 10 years.[10] He played two games off the bench for the Cowboys in 2016.[11]

2017

Spina played 8 games for the Cowboys in 2017, scoring 2 tries, before suffering a season-ending bicep injury.[12]

2018

After not having his contract renewed by the Cowboys, Spina joined the Herbert River Crushers in the Townsville & District Rugby League A Grade competition.

Personal life

Spina is the son of former North Queensland Cowboys player and inaugural captain, Laurie Spina, becoming the first father-son duo to play for the Cowboys,[13] and the brother of Brisbane Roar FC W-League player Ashley Spina.[14]

Spina is an Australian Apprenticeships Ambassador for the Australian Government.[15]

Statistics

NRL

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2017 season[16]
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2014 North Queensland 100—00
2015 North Queensland 510—04
2016 North Queensland 200—00
2017 North Queensland 820—08
Career totals 16 3 0 — 0 12

References

  1. ↑ "Ben Spina". Cowboys. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  2. ↑ "Ben Spina - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 1988-04-26. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  3. ↑ "Ben Spina player results, scores, news and statistics". Archived from the original on 16 September 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  4. ↑ "XXXX Queensland Residents team". QRL.com.au. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
  5. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20150614194959/http://www.rlcm.com.au/latest-news/27636-rugby-league. Archived from the original on 14 June 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ "Changes made to Qld Residents". QRL.com.au. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
  7. ↑ http://www.cowboys.com.au/news/2014/07/05/team_list_cowboys_v_dragons.html. Retrieved 5 July 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ↑ "Spina joins Toyota Cowboys for 2015". Cowboys.com.au. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
  9. ↑ "Spina extends Cowboys contract". Cowboys.com.au. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
  10. ↑ Webeck, Tony. "A Residents team to match any other". QRL. Retrieved 2016-05-05.
  11. ↑ "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  12. ↑ http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/sport/spinas-seasonending-injury-a-big-blow-for-cowboys/news-story/96203b8b8a59c61b11611a8a20c3fc45
  13. ↑ "History-making debut for Spina". NRL.com. 2014-07-06. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  14. ↑ "Tears flow as Northern Pride forward Ben Spina feels sister's pain". Cairns Post. 2014-10-07. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  15. ↑ "Mechanical Fitter and turner: Ben Spina". Australian Apprenticeships. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  16. ↑ "Ben Spina - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 1988-04-26. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
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