Alexander Brimson

AJ Brimson

Personal information
Full name	Alexander James Brimson
Born	(1998-09-09) 9 September 1998 (age 26) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Height	181 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	89 kg (14 st 0 lb)
Playing information
Position	Fullback, Five-eighth, Centre
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2018– Gold Coast Titans 112 43 0 0 164 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2019 Australia 9s 5 2 0 0 9 2020–23 Queensland 4 1 0 0 4
Source: [1] As of 25 August 2024

Alexander James "AJ" Brimson (born 9 September 1998) is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback and five-eighth for the Gold Coast Titans in the National Rugby League (NRL).

He has played for Queensland in the State of Origin series and Australia 9s at international level. He made his debut in the NRL in 2018.

Background

Brimson was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and attended high school on the Gold Coast at famous Rugby League school Keebra Park State High before signing with the Gold Coast Titans.^{[ citation needed ]}

He played his junior rugby league at Centenary Panthers and Runaway Bay Seagulls. Brimson played predominantly touch football growing up making many representative teams. Brimson did not make a Rugby League representative side until under 16's.^{[ citation needed ]}

He was an apprentice carpenter before he played his NRL debut in 2018.^{[ citation needed ]}

Professional career

2018

Brimson made his NRL debut for the Gold Coast at five-eighth in round 10 of the 2018 NRL season against the Melbourne Storm. ^[2] In round 11 of the 2018 NRL season against the Newcastle Knights, Brimson scored his first NRL try in the Gold Coast's 33–26 win at Robina Stadium. Brimson made a total of 15 appearances for the Gold Coast in 2018 as the club finished 14th on the table. ^[3]

2019

Brimson made a total of 21 appearances and scored 4 tries for the Gold Coast in the 2019 NRL season as the club endured a horror year on and off the field. During the halfway mark of the season, head coach Garth Brennan was sacked by the club after a string of poor results. The Gold Coast managed to win only 4 games for the entire season and finished last claiming the Wooden Spoon. ^{[4] [5]} On 7 October, Brimson earned his first representative jersey as he was named for the Australian side in the 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s. Later that day, Brimson was named on the bench for the U23 Junior Australian side.^{[ citation needed ]}

2020

Brimson had an injury plagued 2020, where he had suffered a stress fracture in his back during pre-season, which then developed into a full blown broken back, putting him out for half of the season. ^[6] He played nine games scoring seven tries in 2020, leading the Gold Coast to five straight wins to end the season, where his form granted him a spot in the Queensland Origin team.

On 4 November 2020, Brimson made his State of Origin debut at the Adelaide Oval, scoring a try in Queensland's 18–14 win in game 1 of the series. Despite being able to play out the game, Brimson suffered a foot injury in game 1, making him unavailable for the remainder of the series. ^[7]

2021

On 17 August, Brimson was ruled out for an indefinite period after suffering a hairline fracture to his jaw in the Gold Coast's round 22 loss against South Sydney. ^[8]

2022

In round 24 of the 2022 NRL season, Brimson scored two tries for the Gold Coast in their 36-26 victory against Newcastle. The win ensured that the Gold Coast would avoid the wooden spoon. ^[9] Brimson played a total of 22 matches throughout the year as the club finished 13th on the table. ^[10]

2023

On 2 May, it was announced that Brimson would be ruled out for at least six weeks with a hamstring injury that he suffered during the Gold Coast's victory over Manly. ^[11] Brimson played a total of 14 games for the Gold Coast in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 14th on the table. ^[12]

2024

In round 9 of the 2024 NRL season, Brimson scored two tries as the Gold Coast defeated the New Zealand Warriors 27-24. It was the Gold Coast's first win of the season having lost their opening six matches. ^[13] On 23 May, Brimson announced his re-signing with the Gold Coast Titans until the end of the 2030 season. ^{[14] [15]} Brimson played 13 games for the Gold Coast throughout the 2024 season as the club finished 14th on the table. ^[16]

Following the 2024 season on 6 November 2024, the Titan's referred a Instagram post made by Brimson to the NRL's Integrity Unit, after it appeared to show bets made on the NRL. The post made the night before and deleted shortly after had shown a winning bet on the Melbourne Cup, and also featured two other bets that had been partially obscured, although a Rugby ball was partially visible. Brimson's manager Jim Banaghan stated that it was a prank gone wrong, and that it was Brimson's mothers account and screenshot, as the winning horse had a similar name to his mother. NRL players are prohibited from betting on the NRL. ^[17] On 14 November it was announced that Brimson was cleared of any wrongdoing and had no case to answer. ^[18]

Statistics

Year	Team	Games	Tries	Points
2018	Gold Coast Titans	15	7	28
2019		21	4	16
2020		9	7	28
2021		18	7	28
2022		22	9	36
2023		14	4	16
2024 *		13	5	20
	Totals	112	43	164

*denotes season competing

References

1. "Rugby League Project". Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
2. "Round 10 NRL teams:Every team named". Fox Sports. 8 May 2018. Archived from the original on 22 April 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
3. "Gold Coast Titans 2018 season review". NRL. 18 October 2018. Archived from the original on 29 May 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
4. "The Titans are full of 'hot air'. Their latest blunder proves it". Adelaide Now. 11 September 2019.
5. "Gold Coast Titans sack coach Garth Brennan". The Guardian. 14 July 2019. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
6. "Broken back could rule Brimson out for half a season". 8 May 2020. Archived from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
7. "Injury update: Brimson and Capewell". 5 November 2020. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
8. "Casualty Ward: Jaw injuries sideline Starling, Brimson; Big blow for Saifiti". www.nrl.com. 25 August 2021. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
9. "Gutsy 12-man Titans hold on to beat Knights and avoid wooden spoon". www.foxsports.com.au. 28 August 2022. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
10. "Titans' million-dollar man goes missing as Holbrook rues costly mistake: Brutal Review". www.foxsports.com.au. 8 September 2022. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
11. "Casualty Ward: Trbojevic in doubt for Origin; Burns, Stone ruled out". www.nrl.com. 15 July 2023. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
12. "NRL 2023: Gold Coast Titans season review". www.sportingnews.com. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
13. "Gritty Titans dig deep to post first win of 2024". www.nrl.com.
14. "Brilliant Brimson: AJ to remain a Titan until 2030". Gold Coast Titans. 23 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
15. Chalk, Ethan Lee (23 May 2024). "AJ Brimson inks long-term contract". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
16. "The Mole's end-of-season review: Titans 'perennial enigma' who went missing as Des Hasler 'hallmark' falls flat". www.nine.com.au.
17. "'A wind up': Brimson's social media post and league bets explained as prank gone wrong". www.foxsports.com.au.
18. Pryde, Scott (14 November 2024). "Brimson cleared of betting activity after Melbourne Cup day post". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 14 November 2024.

External links

• Titans profile