Jack Cogger

Jack Cogger

Personal information
Born	(1997-08-05) 5 August 1997 (age 26) Greenacre, New South Wales, Australia
Height	176 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	90 kg (14 st 2 lb)
Playing information
Position	Five-eighth, Halfback
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2016–18 Newcastle Knights 20 1 0 0 4 2019–20 Canterbury Bulldogs 22 3 0 0 12 2021–22 Huddersfield Giants 27 1 0 1 5 2023 Penrith Panthers 13 0 5 1 11 2024– Newcastle Knights 3 0 0 0 0 Total 85 5 5 2 32
Source: [1] As of 24 March 2024

Jack Cogger (born 5 August 1997) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a five-eighth and halfback for the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League (NRL).

He previously played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Penrith Panthers in the NRL, and the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League. He won the 2023 NRL Grand Final with the Penrith Panthers.

Background

Cogger was born in Greenacre, New South Wales, Australia. He is the son of former Western Suburbs Magpies player Trevor Cogger. ^[2]

Cogger played his junior rugby league for the Toukley Hawks, before being signed by the Newcastle Knights.

Playing career

Early years

From 2014 to 2016, Cogger played for the Newcastle Knights' NYC team. ^[3] In November and December 2014, he played for the Australian Schoolboys. ^[4] On 21 January 2015, he re-signed with the Knights on a contract to the end of 2016. ^[2] On 27 August 2015, he extended his Knights contract until the end of 2018. ^[5]

2016

In 2016, Cogger captained the Knights' NYC side. ^[6] In round 10 of the 2016 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for the Knights against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. ^{[7] [8]} In July, he played for the New South Wales under-20s team against the Queensland under-20s team. ^[9] He went on to play 6 NRL games in his debut season. ^[10]

2017

After playing just one game for the Knights' Intrust Super Premiership NSW side, Cogger's 2017 season was derailed after having to undergo pelvis surgery. ^[11] He made his return to the field in round 13 for the club's NYC side, while also playing two NRL matches at the end of the year. ^[12]

2018

In January, Cogger signed a 2-year contract with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs starting in 2019, after his pathway to first-grade for the Knights was blocked through the signings of Mitchell Pearce and Connor Watson. ^[13] Cogger played his final game for the Knights in his side's 12-24 loss to the St. George Illawarra Dragons in round 25. ^[14]

2019

Cogger made a total of 17 appearances for Canterbury in the 2019 NRL season as the club finished 12th on the table. At one stage, Canterbury-Bankstown found themselves sitting last on the table and in real danger of finishing with the wooden spoon. However, for the third straight season, Canterbury achieved four upset victories in a row over Penrith, the Wests Tigers, South Sydney and Parramatta who were all competing for a place in the finals series and were higher on the table. Pay was credited with the late season revival as the side focused heavily on defence. ^{[15] [16]}

2020

On 22 September, Cogger was informed by Canterbury that his services would not be required in 2021 and that he would be released at the end of the 2020 NRL season as the club looked to rebuild after a horror year on and off the field. ^[17]

In December 2020, Cogger signed a contract to join Huddersfield in the Super League. ^[18]

2022

On 28 May 2022, Cogger played for Huddersfield in their 2022 Challenge Cup Final loss to Wigan. ^[19]

In October 2022, it was announced that Cogger had signed a one-year deal with the Penrith Panthers. ^[20]

2023

On 18 February, Cogger played in Penrith's 13-12 upset loss to St Helens RFC in the 2023 World Club Challenge. In round 14 of the 2023 NRL season, Cogger made his NRL club debut for Penrith in their 26-18 victory over St. George Illawarra. ^[21] On 2 August, Cogger signed a three-year deal to re-join his former club Newcastle ahead of the 2024 NRL season. ^[22] Cogger played 13 games for Penrith in the 2023 NRL season including the clubs 26-24 victory over Brisbane in the 2023 NRL Grand Final as Penrith won their third straight premiership. ^[23]

References

1. "Jack Cogger - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
2. Published by Rocco Luca (21 January 2015). "Knights Re-Sign Teenage Halves". Rugby League Week. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
3. "C". Nyc Database. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
4. "Robert Jennings picked for the Australian Schoolboys rugby league team". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
5. NewcastleKnights.com.au (27 August 2015). "Levi and Cogger extend contracts". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
6. NRL. "NYC and Reserve Round 1 teams - Knights". Newcastleknights.com.au. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
7. "Updated team lists: Sharks v Knights". NRL.com. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
8. NRL. "LATE MAIL: Knights v Sharks - Knights". Newcastleknights.com.au. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
9. NRL Digital Media. "NSW Under-20s Team Announcement". NSWRL. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
10. Ferguson, Shawn Dollin and Andrew. "Custom Match List - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
11. "Cogger's injury return". 6 October 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
12. Ferguson, Shawn Dollin and Andrew. "Custom Match List - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
13. "Jack Cogger signs with Canterbury - Zero Tackle". 17 January 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
14. "Knights vs Dragons". National Rugby League. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
15. "Spoons of wood, high hopes and chances lost... the final round storylines". Brisbane Times.
16. "The Dean Pay way: 'Unashamedly' old school". NRL.
17. "Dogs confirm EIGHT-man clean-out in first glimpse of Barrett era". www.foxsports.com.au.
18. "The NRL recruits moving to these shores for the 2021 season". www.skysports.com.
19. "Challenge Cup final: Huddersfield Giants 14-16 Wigan Warriors". www.bbc.co.uk.
20. "Zac Hosking and Jack Cogger join Panthers". Penrith Panthers. 24 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
21. "St Helens: World Club Challenge win 'seismic for British rugby league'". www.bbc.co.uk.
22. "Cowboys lure playmaker home; Knights poach Souths forward, Panthers half: Transfer Centre". www.foxsports.com.au.
23. "NRL grand final 2023: Penrith Panthers defeat Brisbane Broncos – as it happened". www.theguardian.com.

External links

• Newcastle Knights profile
• Penrith Panthers profile
• Canterbury Bulldogs profile