Jai Field

Jai Field

Personal information
Full name	Jai Field
Born	(1997-09-06) 6 September 1997 (age 27) Forbes, New South Wales, Australia
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.81 m)
Weight	13 st 5 lb (85 kg)
Playing information
Position	Fullback, Stand-off
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2017–19 St. George Illawarra Dragons 11 1 7 0 18 2020 Parramatta Eels 6 3 0 0 12 2021– Wigan Warriors 76 45 3 0 186 Total 93 49 10 0 216
Source: [1] [2] As of 17 July 2022

Jai Field (born 6 September 1997) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback or stand-off for the Wigan Warriors in the Super League.

He previously played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Parramatta Eels in the NRL.

Background

Field was born in Forbes, New South Wales, Australia, and is of Indigenous Australian (Wiradjuri) and Irish descent. ^[3]

He played junior rugby league for the Shellharbour Sharks, before being signed by the St. George Illawarra Dragons.

Playing career

St. George Illawarra Dragons

2016

In 2016, Field played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons' NYC team. ^[4] In December, he re-signed with the St. George club on a three-year contract until the end of 2019. ^[5]

2017

In round 1 of the 2017 NRL season, Field made his NRL debut for St. George against the Penrith Panthers. ^{[6] [7]} He saw his next two games in round 10 and 11, after injuries to the Dragons' top squad. ^[8]

2018

Field played two first grade games for the 2018 season, both of them coming off the bench.^{[ citation needed ]}

Field playing for St. George Illawarra Dragons in 2018

2019

Field made a total of 6 appearances for St George in the 2019 NRL season as the club finished second last on the table. ^[9]

Field playing for St. George Illawarra Dragons in 2019

In November 2019, it was announced that Field had been released by the club. ^[10]

Parramatta Eels

2020

On 20 February, Field signed a train-and-trial contract with Parramatta after his move to English side Leeds broke down. Field played in the club's 28-24 trial game loss against South Sydney. ^[11]

On 24 May, Field signed a contract to join the Parramatta development squad for the rest of the 2020 NRL season. ^[12] In round 8, Field made his debut for Parramatta and scored a try as Parramatta defeated North Queensland 42-4 at Bankwest Stadium. ^[13] On 12 October, Field was released by the Parramatta club along with ten other players. ^[14] Field was announced as a Wigan Warriors player for 2021 on 9 November 2020. ^[15]

Wigan Warriors

2021

Field made his debut for Wigan in the opening match of the 2021 season against Leigh Centurions playing winger. ^[16] Field suffered a torn hamstring in the 19th minute of the game attempting a sprint ruling him out for five months. ^[17] Field returned to the pitch, coming on at half time, in Wigan's August victory over Salford, ^[18] however he suffered a groin injury in his next match for the club against Castleford ruling him out for the remainder of the season. ^[19]

2022

Field started the 2022 season scoring and converting his try in a victory over Hull KR in the opening weekend of Super League. ^[20] He then scored a hat-trick of tries and conversations in Wigan's round 2 victory over Leeds Rhinos. ^[21] Field rack up a further eleven Super League tries across March and April, but did not score again in the league until late June where he went on to add a further six league tries to his tally. Field started the 2022 Challenge Cup Final on 28th May, after being pivotal in Wigan's cup run which saw him score his second hat-trick of the season in the quarter finals again Wakefield Trinity. ^[22] Field scored in a 16–14 victory over Huddersfield which saw him lift his first major piece of silverwear of his career. ^[23]

Field finished the season with 25 tries and four conversions for the club and was awarded Wigan Warriors Player of the Year and Player's Player of the Year, ^[24] in addition to winning the RLWBA Player of the Year, ^[25] and making the Super League Dream Team as fullback. ^[26]

2023

Field scored in the opening three matches of the 2023 Super League, with his next score being a brace in round 7 in Wigan's 34–6 Battle of the Borough derby victory over the Leigh Leopards. ^[27] However, Field suffered a hamstring injury a hamstring injury during the game, keeping him sideload for two months. ^[28] Field returned in June, and scored in Wigan's derby fixture against St Helens, but would lose the match. ^[29] Field scored a hat-trick in Wigan's round 21 64–6 defeated of Hull Kingston Rovers, ^[30] before scoring again in round 24 against Salford. ^[31] The victory saw Wigan go top of the table for the first time since April and ultimately win the 2023 League Leaders' Shield.

Field scored a brace in Wigan's play off semi-final against Hull Kingston Rovers, winning the match 42–12. ^[32] On 14 October, Field played in the 2023 Super League Grand Final, which saw Wigan defeat the Catalans Dragons 10–2 and win the 2023 Super League. ^[33]

2024

Field warming up for Wigan in 2024

Ahead of the 2024 season, Field signed a four-year contract extension with Wigan. ^[34]

On 24 February, Field played in Wigan's 2024 World Club Challenge final victory over Penrith. ^[35] On 8 June, Field played in Wigan's 2024 Challenge Cup final victory over Warrington. ^[36]

Honours

Wigan Warriors

• Super League
  • Winners (2): 2023, 2024

• League Leaders' Shield
  • Winners (2): 2023, 2024

• Challenge Cup
  • Winners (1): 2022

• World Club Challenge
  • Winners (1): 2024

Individual

• Super League Dream Team
  • Winners (1): 2022
• RLWBA Player of the Year:
  • Winners (1): 2022
• Wigan Warriors Player of the Year
  • Winners (1): 2022
• Wigan Warriors Players' Player of the Year
  • Winners (1): 2022

References

1. "Jai Field - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
2. "Player Summary: Jai Field". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
3. "7th Tackle: Luck of the Irish finds Keary". Seven Sport. Yahoo!7. 6 April 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
4. "F". NYC Database. 27 December 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
5. Dragons.com.au (13 December 2016). "Dragons re-sign Jai Field". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
6. "Updated team lists: Dragons v Panthers". NRL.com. 4 March 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
7. "NRL Late Mail: Round 1 v Penrith Panthers". St George Illawarra Dragons. 4 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
8. "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
9. "Paul McGregor facing the axe as St. George Illawarra Dragons coach following horror season". Sporting News. 2 September 2019.
10. "NRL signings and player transfers". NRL. 4 November 2019.
11. "'He showed up yesterday': Arthur tosses Field a lifeline". www.nrl.com. 21 February 2020.
12. "Parramatta Eels release Ethan Parry and sign Jai Field". sportingnews.com. 24 May 2020.
13. "Maika Sivo scores four tries as Parramatta beat NQ". www.foxsports.com.au. 3 July 2020.
14. "Parramatta Eels farewell 11 players in mass exodus following disappointing finals exit". www.sportingnews.com. 12 October 2020.
15. "Jai Field joins Wigan". www.wiganwarriors.com. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
16. "Leigh 18-20 Wigan: Warriors rally to deny Centurions a dream Super League return". Sky Sports. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
17. "Jai Field: Wigan's new signing out for five months after injury on Super League debut". Sky Sports. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
18. https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/rugby-league/wigan-warriors-16-salford-red-devils-6-jai-field-returns-to-action-3337583 ^{[ bare URL ]}
19. Walker, Callum (1 November 2021). "Jai Field update on injuries and future". Serious About Rugby League. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
20. "Super League: Wigan Warriors begin Matt Peet era with 24-10 win over Hull Kingston Rovers". Sky Sports. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
21. "Jai Field's hat-trick helps Wigan Warriors to 34-12 victory over Leeds Rhinos". www.skysports.com.
22. "Wakefield Trinity 6-36 Wigan Warriors: Jai Field hat-trick sets up Challenge Cup semi-final against St Helens".
23. "Challenge Cup final: Huddersfield Giants 14-16 Wigan Warriors". www.bbc.co.uk. 26 May 2022.
24. Fletcher, Charlotte (5 September 2022). "Warriors 2022 Season Awards". Wigan Warriors. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
25. "Jai Field has been named as player of the year by the Rugby League Writers and Broadcasters Association". www.rugby-league.com. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
26. "Super League Dream Team 2022: Salford Red Devils' Brodie Croft among six newcomers this year".
27. Bower, Aaron (30 March 2023). "Jai Field doubles up as Wigan recover from slow start to breeze past Leigh". The Guardian.
28. "Jai Field timeframe revealed with Wigan star set for lengthy spell on sidelines". www.loverugbyleague.com. 3 April 2023.
29. "St Helens 34-16 Wigan Warriors: Jack Welsby stars to help Super League champions seal derby delight". Sky Sports.
30. "Super League: Wigan 64-6 Hull KR - Abbas Miski leads way as Cup finalists ship 12 tries". BBC Sport.
31. "Wigan 26-8 Salford: Warriors return to top of Super League with dominant victory over Red Devils". Sky Sports. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
32. "Super League: Liam Marshall stars as Wigan Warriors beat Hull KR 42-12 to seal place in Grand Final". Sky Sports. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
33. Bower, Aaron (14 October 2023). "Wigan Warriors crowned Super League champions after downing Dragons". The Observer.
34. "Wigan full-back Field signs new four-year contract". BBC Sport. 12 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
35. "World Club Challenge: Wigan Warriors 16-12 Penrith Panthers - Cherry and Whites crowned world champions for fifth time". BBC Sport. 24 February 2024.
36. "Wigan beat Warrington to win Challenge Cup". www.bbc.co.uk. 8 June 2024.

External links

• St. George Illawarra Dragons profile Archived 28 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine
• Wigan Warriors profile