Brett Kearney

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Brett Kearney
Brett Kearney.JPG
Personal information
Full nameBrett Kearney
Born (1983-09-29) 29 September 1983 (age 41)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Height178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight80 kg (12 st 8 lb)
Position Fullback, Five-eighth, Halfback, Hooker
Club
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
2003–05 South Sydney 2850020
2006–09 Cronulla Sharks 49200080
2010–14 Bradford Bulls 1125900236
Total1898400336
Representative
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
2008 NSW Country 10000
Source: [1]

Brett Kearney (born 29 September 1983 in Sydney, New South Wales), also known by the nickname of "BK", is an Australian professional rugby league footballer formerly with the Bradford Bulls in the Super League, now currently playing for the Collegians in the Illawarra Rugby League competition. A utility back, he has represented Country Origin and previously played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Cronulla.

Contents

Biography

Early career

Kearney's Junior Club was the Kincumber Colts, on the Central Coast. Kearney was recruited to play with the North Sydney Bears in the Harold Matthews Cup and S.G. Ball Cup before he moved on to South Sydney in 2003.

2003-2005

Kearney made his First Grade Debut in round 1 of the 2003 NRL season for South Sydney against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at Telstra Stadium. Kearney made a total of 28 appearances for South Sydney as the club struggled towards the bottom of the table, finishing last in 2003 and 2004.

2006-2014

Signing with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Kearney had limited opportunity in 2006, with the exception of injuries. In 2007, with a positional change to fullback, Kearney was a regular in the first grade side until he suffered injury during the season. At fullback, "BK" made inroads in attack, scoring several tries. He scored a superb hat trick in the 2007 game against St. George Illawarra Dragons, showing his ability in attack. In 2008, Kearney was selected to play in the annual City vs Country match. At club level, Kearney made 20 appearances for Cronulla in the 2008 NRL season and scored 10 tries as the club reached the preliminary final but were defeated 28-0 by Melbourne at the Sydney Football Stadium.

In the 2009 NRL season, Kearney suffered a season-ending injury in round 1. [2]

In 2010, he joined Super League club Bradford. After featuring for the at stand-off at the start of his Bulls career he was shifted to his natural position of full back midway through the 2010 season. After Mick Potter took over, Kearney featured almost exclusively as a full back in 2011.

In 2011, Kearney signed a new three-year deal with Bradford. [3]

Return to Australia

In 2015, following five seasons in the Super League, Kearney returned to Australia after being linked to Illawarra Coal League team, the Collegians. [4]

In 2018, Kearney returned to his junior club, the Kincumber Colts.

The table below shows the year-by-year breakdown of Kearney's time with the Bradford Bulls:

SeasonAppearanceTriesGoalsF/GPoints
2010 Bradford Bulls 25140056
2011 Bradford Bulls 2170028
2012 Bradford Bulls 22150060
2013 Bradford Bulls 22150060
2014 Bradford Bulls 2280032
Total1125900236

(For 2014 Super League season highlights, stats and results click on 2014 Super League season results)

In 2023, the Brain Foundation announced the appointment of Kearney as an ambassador. [5]

References

  1. "Brett Kearney – Career Stats & Summary – Rugby League Project". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  2. "Robbie Paul joins Ian Millward at Leigh Centurions". The Guardian. 3 August 2009.
  3. "Double delight as Brett Kearney toasts victory and new Bradford Bulls contract". The Telegraph and argus.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Brett Kearney - Concussion in Sport - Brain Foundation" . Retrieved 25 March 2025.