Kenny Edwards (rugby league)

Kenny Edwards
Personal information
Born (1989-09-13) 13 September 1989
Levin, New Zealand
Height 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 106 kg (16 st 10 lb)
Playing information
Position Second-row, Lock, Five-eighth

Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2013–18 Parramatta Eels 70 6 0 0 24
2018– Catalans Dragons 16 8 0 0 32
Total 86 14 0 0 56
As of 2 October 2018
Source: [1][2]

Kenny Edwards (born 13 September 1989) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays for the Catalans Dragons in the Super League. He plays as a lock and second-row forward.

Early life

Born in Levin, New Zealand, Edwards is of Māori and Cook Island descent and played his junior football for the Levin Knights and the Pukekohe Pythons, before being signed by the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

As a youngster, Edwards played for the Junior Kiwis.[3]

In 2007, Edwards played for the Australian Schoolboys.[4]

Club career

In 2008, Edwards played for Manly Warringah Sea Eagles' NYC team,[5] however his contract was terminated at the start of 2009 due to disciplinary reasons.

He instead joined the St. George Illawarra Dragons for the 2009 season, again playing in the NYC competition.[6] Later on, he had his contract terminated once again for disciplinary reasons which forced him to sit out the 2011 season.[4]

In 2012 Edwards joined the Southport Tigers in the Gold Coast Rugby League competition. After acting as a trainer in one of the Tigers' under-17s matches, Edwards was accused of repeatedly inciting his team to fight their opponents. He was subsequently banned for the rest of the season, but had the charges downgraded on appeal and was allowed to play for Southport in the final series.[4]

Edwards joined the Parramatta Eels on a one-year contract for the 2013 season.[4] On 25 July 2013, the contract was extended for another two seasons.[7] He then made his NRL debut for the Eels during round 26 of the 2013 NRL season.[8]

On 22 September 2013, Edwards was named at second-row in the 2013 New South Wales Cup team of the year.[9]

In October 2014, Edwards was named in the New Zealand Māori squad to play the Queensland Murri team.[10]

On 5 June 2014, Edwards again extended his contract with the Eels, signing until the end of 2017.[11]

During the 2015 NRL season, Edwards was handed a 9 month playing ban and missed the entire season for taking a urine sample on behalf of fellow Parramatta player Kaysa Pritchard.[12]

In 2017, Edwards missed the first 7 rounds of the season after pleading guilty to a domestic violence charge, having poured alcohol over the head of his partner during an argument. In his second game back, Edwards was the first player to be sinbinned after the NRL changed the rules to outlaw players slapping opposition players. Edwards was shown throwing a chair across the change rooms after the incident.[13] Kenny Edwards played his 50th NRL match against the St George Illawarra Dragons in round 15 of the 2017 NRL season.

On 28 July 2017, during Parramatta's victory over Brisbane, Edwards delivered a late tackle on Brisbane player Jonus Pearson, who was lying on the ground following a high tackle by Parramatta player Nathan Brown. Edwards was later cited over the incident and faces a $1500 fine if he enters an early guilty plea.[14].

On 15 May 2018, Edwards was stood down indefinitely by Parramatta after he allegedly fled from police following a random roadside check in Merrylands,Sydney. Edwards did not face Fairfield Local Court but attended a traffic offenders course, having been accused of abandoning a vehicle he was driving on a suspended licence. Edwards only raised the matter with the club on 7 May 2018, which was three weeks after allegedly running away from police after being approached by officers[15].

On 19 May 2018, Edwards was released by Parramatta. In his time at the club, Edwards missed over 35 games for Parramatta due to incidents off the field [16]. On 25 May 2018, Edwards signed a one and a half year deal to join Super League side Catalans Dragons[17]. In August 2018, Edwards was part of the Catalans Dragons side which won their first ever trophy, claiming victory in the 2018 Challenge Cup Final at Wembley.[18]

Personal life

Edwards is the cousin of Penrith Panthers player James Tamou.[19] He has two children, a daughter named Malia-Rose Edwards and a son named Kymani Edwards.

References

  1. ↑ loverugbyleague
  2. ↑ "Ken Edwards - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
  3. ↑ "Parramatta Eels dock Kenny Edwards second game". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Eels sign another bad-boy reserve grader..." Leyedeel.com. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  5. ↑ "TOYOTA CUP TRIALS RAIDERS READY TO TACKLE TIGERS - LUKE SET TO STAR IN MOLLYMOOK CLASH". Ourfootyteam.com. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  6. ↑ "LATEST KEEBRA PARK FOOTY NEWS". Ourfootyteam.com. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "Edwards Re-Signs with Eels". Parraeels.com.au. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  8. ↑ Shawn Dollin and Andrew Ferguson (16 October 2014). "NRL 2013". Rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "2013 NSWRL.com.au VB NSW Cup Team of the Year - Announcement". Nswrl.com.au. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  10. ↑ "Eels Named for NZ Maori". Parraeels.com.au. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  11. ↑ "Eels Enforcers Re-Sign with Parramatta". Parraeels.com.au. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  12. ↑ https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/teams/eels/nrl-2016-parramatta-eels-hooker-kaysa-pritchard-wants-to-repay-the-faith-shown-by-coach-brad-arthur/news-story/063f5ddba51257188844e7fc0180fc01
  13. ↑ Paul Zalunardo. "Video: Kenny Edwards the first NRL player to be sin binned for slap after Gavin Cooper scuffle". nine.com.au.
  14. ↑ http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/nrl-parramatta-eels-kenny-edwards-cops-fine-for-shot-on-brisbane-broncos-jonus-pearson-20170729-gxlgd7.html
  15. ↑ https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/05/15/kenny-edwards-stood-down-indefinitely-by-parramatta-eels/
  16. ↑ http://www.sportingnews.com/au/league/news/kenny-edwards-parramatta-eels-released-contract-traffic-incident/6a195nexegpo1nhta3vvcofdo
  17. ↑ http://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/news/12216/11385436/catalans-dragons-sign-kenny-edwards-following-parramatta-exit
  18. ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/rugby-league/45007844
  19. ↑ "Edwards Making Up For Lost Time in NRL". Nswrl.com.au. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
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