Brenden Santi

Brenden Santi

Personal information
Born	(1993-08-05) 5 August 1993 (age 31) Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia
Height	187 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	101 kg (15 st 13 lb)
Playing information
Position	Lock
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2014–15 Wests Tigers 11 0 0 0 0 2019 Toulouse Olympique 19 1 0 0 4 2020 Newcastle Thunder 5 0 0 0 0 2021–23 Keighley Cougars 47 15 0 0 60 2023– York Knights 38 6 0 0 24 Total 120 22 0 0 88 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2013– Italy 15 4 0 0 16
Source: [1] [2] As of 16 January 2025

Brenden Santi (born 5 August 1993) is an Italy international rugby league footballer who plays as a prop , second-row or loose forward for the York Knights in the RFL Championship.

He previously played for the Wests Tigers in the NRL.

Background

Santi was born in Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia and is of Italian descent.

He played his junior rugby league for the Chester Hill Hornets before being signed by the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.

Playing career

Wests Tigers

In 2010, Santi was a part of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs' NYC squad but didn't play a game. He joined the Wests Tigers and played for their NYC team from 2011 to 2013. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

During his initial period with the Wests Tigers, Santi captained the Australian Schoolboys in 2011, ^[6] and played in the Tigers' 2012 NYC Grand Final win over the Canberra Raiders. He also played for the New South Wales Under 20s team, winning the Players' Player award. ^[6] At the end of 2013, Santi played for Italy at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, playing three games from the bench.

Parramatta Eels

Santi signed a two-year contract with the Parramatta Eels starting in 2014. Coach Ricky Stuart said, "Brenden ticks a lot of boxes in regards to the type of player we want to build our club around - no nonsense and tough with a high work rate." ^[6]

By the start of 2014, Stuart had been replaced as Eels coach by Brad Arthur. On 8 May 2014, Santi returned to the Wests Tigers mid-season on a contract to the end of 2015. ^[7] Santi said, "I did what most young kids would do and left [Wests Tigers] for an opportunity. I wasn't filthy, because they had a lot of quality first graders in front of me. I got bought by Ricky Stuart, [but] Brad Arthur had other plans at Parramatta. And I don't think I was in them." ^[8]

In round 25 of the 2014 NRL season, Santi made his NRL debut for the Tigers against the Canberra Raiders, ^[9] in what was his only appearance for the season.

Santi played in 10 games in 2015, all from the bench. He was not re-signed at the end of the season. ^[10]

Townsville Blackhawks

In 2016, he joined the Townsville Blackhawks in the Queensland Cup. ^[11] At the end of the 2016 season, he joined the Sydney Roosters for 2017. ^[12] In October, he represented Italy at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.

In 2018, Santi re-joined the Townsville Blackhawks, after spending the entire 2017 season playing for the Roosters' feeder club, the Wyong Roos, in the New South Wales Cup. ^[13]

Toulouse Olympique

In the 2019 season, Santi played for French side Toulouse Olympique making 19 appearances. ^[14]

Newcastle Thunder

On 21 December 2019, Santi signed for the Newcastle Thunder for the 2020 League 1 season. ^[15]

Keighley Cougars

On 30 October 2020 it was announced that Santi would join Keighley Cougars for the 2021 season ^[16] At the end of the 2021 season Santi signed a two-year contract extension with Keighley tying him to the club until the end of the 2023 season. ^[17]

York RLFC

On 30 June 2023, Santi signed a contract to join York RLFC until the end of the 2023 season. ^[18] On 2 December 2024, Santi had re-signed with the club for the 2025 season. ^[19]

International

Santi was named in the Italian squad for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. ^[20]

References

1. "Brenden Santi" . Retrieved 30 September 2022.
2. "Player Summary: Brenden Santi". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
3. "Brenden Santi". rleague.com. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014.
4. "England 14 Italy 15: we now face the biggest week of our lives, says England captain Kevin Sinfield". Telegraph.co.uk. 20 October 2013.
5. "Rugby League World Cup 2013". rlwc2013.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
6. "Parramatta Eels Sign Brenden Santi". parraeels.com.au. 24 July 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
7. "Santi re-joins Wests Tigers". weststigers.com.au. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
8. Encarnacion, Matt (11 March 2015). "Tigers prodigal son finally gets his shot". nrl.com. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
9. "Late Changes: NRL Round 25". weststigers.com.au. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
10. "2016 NRL Transfers". Rugby League Week. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
11. Media, Blackhawks. "Emerging and vintage talent secure Blackhawks win". QRL. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
12. "Antony Stewart on Twitter: "Sad news for the @TsvBlackhawks but exciting for Brenden Santi, who's agreed to join @sydneyroosters in @NRL next season @7NewsTownsville"". Twitter.com. 13 November 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
13. "Santi flies again with Mendi Blackhawks". Mendi Blackhawks. 3 January 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
14. "Brenden Santi finds new club after surprise Keighley Cougars exit". www.examinerlive.co.uk.
15. "SIGNING – Santi (Claus) joins for 2020". thunderrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
16. "Keighley Cougars add Italian captain Brenden Santi for 2021". Telegraph & Argus. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
17. "Santi ecstatic with new deal as he makes Keighley home". Keighley News. 14 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
18. "York Knights sign Italian international forward Brenden Santi". www.rugby-league.com.
19. Chalk, Ethan Lee (2 December 2024). "Former Wests Tigers forward signs new deal to continue career". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
20. Darbyshire, Drew (30 September 2022). "Nathan Brown headlines Italy squad for Rugby League World Cup". LoveRugbyLeague. Retrieved 30 September 2022.

External links

• York Knights profile
• 2017 RLWC profile
• Italy profile