Statistics
| Year | Team | Games | Tries | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 |  Newcastle Knights | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 2020 | 11 | 8 | 32 | |
| 2021 | 17 | 3 | 12 | |
| 2022 | 14 | 5 | 20 | |
| 2023 | 25 | 13 | 52 | |
| 2024 | ||||
| Totals | 70 | 30 | 120 |
*Denotes season competing
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 9 August 2001 [1] Central Coast, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 182 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 103 kg (16 st 3 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: [2] As of 11 April 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bradman Best (born 9 August 2001) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre for the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Best was born on the Central Coast, New South Wales, Australia and is of Indigenous Australian and Welsh descent. [3] [4] [5]
Best was educated at St Edward's College, East Gosford and he played his junior rugby league for the Woy Woy Roosters, [6] [7] before being signed by the Newcastle Knights.
Best is the son of former Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and London Broncos player Roger Best. [8]
Coming through the Newcastle lower grades, Best also represented the New South Wales under-16s and under-18s sides along the way. [9] [10] [11] At the age of 17, Best was invited to train with Newcastle's NRL squad. [8] In late 2018, he played for the Australian Schoolboys [12] and re-signed with the Newcastle club on a four-year contract until the end of 2022. [13]
In 2019, between injuries, Best split his time playing with Newcastle's Jersey Flegg Cup team and Canterbury Cup NSW team. [14] [15] By August, he turned 18 and was therefore eligible to play NRL. Shortly after, he returned from a foot injury in the Jersey Flegg Cup, scoring three tries and being named man of the match. [16] The following week, in Round 23, he made his NRL debut for the Newcastle club in their 4-46 loss to the Wests Tigers at Campbelltown Stadium. [16] In round 24, he scored his first NRL try in Newcastle's 38-4 win over the Gold Coast Titans at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle. [17]
Despite scoring two tries in Round 3 against the Penrith Panthers, Best failed to provide an assist to teammate Edrick Lee in the final stages of the match; which ended in a 14–14 draw. [18] In response, Lee and Best practiced one-on-one passing in the lead-up to the Round 4 match against the Canberra Raiders. [18] In the Round 4 match, Best scored another two tries and provided a try assist; which had Lee score the try in a similar scenario to the previous match. [19] After the game, Best sparked instantaneous social media attention, controversially likened to other Australian athletes such as Don Bradman for his performance in Newcastle's 34–18 win over Canberra. [20]
On 27 March, Best was ruled out of action for four weeks with an elbow injury in Newcastle's victory over the New Zealand Warriors. [21]
In round 14, Best was taken from the field in Newcastle's loss against South Sydney and was ruled out for an indefinite period. [22] Best returned to the Newcastle side for their round 20 match against Canberra. [23] In Round 21 against Brisbane, he injured his shoulder during the game and was taken to hospital for scans. [24]
In round 11 of the 2022 NRL season, Best was taken from the field during Newcastle's defeat against Brisbane with a dislocated elbow. Best was later ruled out from playing for an indefinite period. [25]
On 16 August, it was announced that Best had been stood down from the Newcastle club for not meeting team standards. Best had played in the club's loss against Brisbane in Round 22 but failed to make the team bus which was heading to the airport the next morning. [26]
In round 18 of the 2023 NRL season, Best scored a hat-trick in Newcastle's 66-0 victory over Canterbury. [27] The following day, Best was a surprise selection by New South Wales for game 3 of the 2023 State of Origin series. [28] He scored two tries on debut for New South Wales as they won the match 24-10 and avoided a series clean sweep. [29]
In round 26, Best scored two tries for Newcastle in their 32-6 victory over Cronulla. [30] He played a total of 25 games for Newcastle in the 2023 NRL season and scored 13 tries as the club finished 5th on the table. Best played in both finals games as Newcastle were eliminated in the second week of the finals by the New Zealand Warriors. [31]
Best re-signed with the Knights until the end of the 2027 season. [32]
| Year | Team | Games | Tries | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Newcastle Knights | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 2020 | 11 | 8 | 32 | |
| 2021 | 17 | 3 | 12 | |
| 2022 | 14 | 5 | 20 | |
| 2023 | 25 | 13 | 52 | |
| 2024 | ||||
| Totals | 70 | 30 | 120 |
*Denotes season competing
Akuila Uate, also known by the nicknames of "Aku", and "Akuila the Thriller", is a former professional rugby league footballer who played on the wing. He was both a Fiji and Australian international.
Tariq Sims is an Fiji international rugby league footballer who plays as a Second-row, Loose forward and Prop for the Catalans Dragons in the English Super League.
Dane Gagai is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre and winger for the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has played for Australia and the New Zealand Maori at international level.
Chad Townsend is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a halfback for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Jack Wighton is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the National Rugby League (NRL). Wighton has spent most of his club career as a five-eighth and has played centre at the interstate and international level.
Daniel Tupou is a professional rugby league footballer who plays on the wing for the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has played for Tonga and Australia at international level.
Jordan McLean is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australia at international level.
Clinton Gutherson is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays fullback for the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Jackson Hastings is a Great Britain international rugby league footballer who plays as a halfback for the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Mitchell Barnett is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row, lock or prop forward for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Adam Elliott is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a lock and second-row forward for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL.
Daniel Saifiti is a Fiji international rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL.
Jacob Saifiti is a Fiji international rugby league footballer who plays as a prop forward for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL.
Cory Denniss is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre and winger for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL.
Enari Tuala is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a winger or centre for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL.
Tom Starling is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Corey Allan is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a wing, fullback and centre for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Dylan Brown is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a five-eighth for the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League (NRL) and New Zealand at international level.
Brent Naden is an Indigenous Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre and winger for the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Viliami Penisini is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a centre for the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League (NRL).