Jordan McLean

For the American musician, see Jordan McLean (musician).

Jordan McLean

Personal information
Full name	Jordan McLean
Born	(1991-10-08) 8 October 1991 (age 33) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height	196 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Weight	118 kg (18 st 8 lb)
Playing information
Position	Prop
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2013–17 Melbourne Storm 86 4 0 0 16 2018– North Qld Cowboys 137 6 0 0 24 Total 223 10 0 0 40 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2016 NSW Country 1 0 0 0 0 2017 World All Stars 1 0 0 0 0 2017–18 Australia 8 0 0 0 0 2018 Prime Minister's XIII 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1] As of 20 September 2024

Jordan McLean (born 8 October 1991) 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.

He has previously played for the Melbourne Storm in the NRL and was a member of the Storm's 2017 NRL Grand Final winning team. McLean was also part of Australia's 2017 Rugby League World Cup winning side and has played at representative level for NSW Country, World All Stars and the Prime Minister's XIII.

Background

McLean was born in Sydney, New South Wales and is of Māori descent.

Jordan played his junior rugby league for the Young Cherrypickers and attended Young High School before being signed by the Canberra Raiders. ^[2]

Playing career

Early career

In 2007, McLean played for the Canberra Raiders Harold Matthews Cup team before joining the Melbourne Storm. ^[3]

He played for Melbourne's NYC team from 2009 to 2011 and was a part of their 2009 NYC premiership winning team. ^[4]

McLean playing for the Storm-Sharks combined team in 2013

2013

On 10 June 2013, McLean re-signed with the Melbourne side for a further three years, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2016 season. ^[5] In Round 11 of the 2013 NRL season, McLean made his NRL debut for the Melbourne Storm against the Sydney Roosters at the SFS from the interchange bench in the clubs 26–18 win. ^[6] In Round 23 against the Newcastle Knights at Hunter Stadium, McLean scored his first career try in Melbourne's 23–10 win. ^[7] McLean finished his debut year in the NRL with him playing in 14 matches and scoring a try for the Melbourne outfit.

2014

In Round 3 of the 2014 NRL season the Melbourne club played the Newcastle Knights at a home game at AAMI Park in Melbourne's 28–20 win, shortly before half-time, McLean was involved in a 3-man tackle with team mates Jesse and Kenny Bromwich, where Newcastle forward Alex McKinnon subsequently suffered fractures to C4 and C5 vertebrae and was admitted to Melbourne's The Alfred Hospital and placed in a medically induced coma. Early reports were that McKinnon was unlikely to walk again. McLean expressed his sympathies to McKinnon through a Facebook post that read "Best wishes to Alex McKinnon, I genuinely hope you're alright and have a safe recovery". On 2 April, McLean appeared before the NRL Judiciary. McLean's lawyer Nick Ghabar, urged the panel to remove any emotion from the case and to exercise their common sense as former players, to accept the tackle was an accident, however, his client was given a seven-match suspension. A devastated McLean could not bear to look at numerous replays of the tackle. ^{[8] [9] [10]} McLean returned to the Melbourne side in Round 14 against the Gold Coast Titans at Cbus Super Stadium, playing in the Storm's 24–20 win. ^[11] He finished off the 2014 season having played in 16 matches and scoring three tries for Melbourne. ^[12]

2015

On 24 March 2015, McLean re-signed with Melbourne for a further three years, keeping him at the club to the end of the 2018 season. ^[13] McLean finished off the 2015 season having played in 15 matches for the Melbourne club. ^[14]

2016

On 8 May 2016, McLean played for New South Wales Country against New South Wales City, playing off the interchange bench in the 44–30 loss in Tamworth. ^[15] On 2 October 2016, in Melbourne's 2016 NRL Grand Final against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, McLean started at prop in the 14–12 defeat. ^[16] McLean finished the 2016 NRL season with him playing in 21 matches for the Melbourne outfit.

2017

On 10 February 2017, McLean played for the World All Stars against the Indigenous All Stars in the 2017 All Stars match, starting at prop in the 34–8 loss at Hunter Stadium. ^[17] On 20 March 2017, McLean signed with the North Queensland Cowboys on a three-year deal, starting in 2018. ^{[18] [19]} In May 2017, McLean was named as 18th man for Australia in the 2017 ANZAC Test match against New Zealand and for New South Wales for Game 1 of the 2017 State of Origin series. ^{[20] [21]} On 1 October 2017, in Melbourne's 2017 NRL Grand Final against the North Queensland Cowboys, McLean started at prop in the 34–6 victory against his future club. ^{[22] [23]} McLean finished his last year with the Melbourne Storm with him playing in 20 matches in the 2016 NRL season.

McLean representing Australia in 2017

On 3 October 2017, McLean was rewarded for his big season by being selected in the 24-man Kangaroos squad for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. ^[24] McLean played in all 6 matches of the tournament including starting at prop in the Kangaroos 6–0 gritty win against England in the World Cup Final at Suncorp Stadium. ^[25]

2018

In Round 1 of the 2018 NRL season, McLean made his club debut for the North Queensland Cowboys against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, starting at prop in the 20–14 win at 1300SMILES Stadium. ^[26] In Round 2 against the Brisbane Broncos in the Queensland derby match, Mclean scored his first club try for North Queensland in the 24–20 loss at Suncorp Stadium. ^[27] In the Cowboys' Round 4 loss to the Penrith Panthers, McLean suffered a foot injury, sidelining him for four months. ^[28] He returned from injury in North Queensland's Round 20 win over the Newcastle Knights. ^[29]

Following a strong finish to the season, McLean was recalled to the Australian squad for their end of season Test matches against New Zealand and Tonga. ^[30] On 6 October, he represented the Prime Minister's XIII in their win over the PNG Prime Minister's XIII side. ^{[31] [32]}

2019

On 8 March 2019, McLean was named vice-captain of the North Queensland side. ^[33] He played 22 games for the club in 2019, starting all 22 at prop. In Round 4, he played his 100th NRL game in North Queensland's 12–30 loss to the Canberra Raiders. ^[34] In Round 13, he sustained a hamstring injury in North Queensland's loss to the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. The injury dashed his hopes of replacing the injured David Klemmer in the New South Wales Game 2 side. He returned to the North Queensland line up in Round 15, missing just one game. ^[35] On 18 September, he won the Cowboys' 2019 Players' Player award at the club's presentation night. ^[36]

2020

McLean played 15 games for the North Queensland club in 2020, starting all 15 at prop, and captaining the side four times. He missed five games due to a calf injury. ^[37]

2022

On 19 June, McLean was selected by New South Wales for game two of the 2022 State of Origin series in the extended squad. ^[38] McLean was then selected by coach Brad Fittler to make his State of Origin debut as starting prop for game 3. With just days remaining before the series decider, McLean was ruled out of the match with a hamstring injury. ^[39] McLean played 22 matches for North Queensland in the 2022 NRL season as the club finished third on the table and qualified for the finals. He played in both finals matches including their preliminary final loss to Parramatta. ^[40]

2023

McLean played 22 matches for North Queensland in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 11th on the table. ^[41]

2024

He played 22 games for North Queensland in the 2024 NRL season as they finished 5th on the table. McLean played in both finals games for North Queensland as they were eliminated in the second week by Cronulla. ^[42] On 15 November, the Cowboys announced that McLean had signed a one year extension with the club. ^[43]

Achievements and accolades

Individual

• North Queensland Cowboys Players' Player of the Year : 2019

Team

• 2017 NRL Grand Final: Melbourne Storm – Winners
• 2017 Rugby League World Cup: Australia – Winners

Statistics

^[44]

Season	Team	Matches	T	G	GK %	F/G	Pts
2013	Melbourne	14	1	0	–	0	4
2014		16	3	0	–	0	12
2015		15	0	0	–	0	0
2016		21	0	0	–	0	0
2017		20	0	0	–	0	0
2018	North Queensland	10	2	0	–	0	0
2019		22	1	0	—	0	4
2020		15	0	0	—	0	0
2021		24	1	0			4
2022		22	0	0
2023		22	1				4
2024		22	1				4
2025
Career totals		223	10	0	—	0	40

International

†	Denotes seasons in which McLean won a World Cup

Season	Team	Matches	T	G	GK %	F/G	Pts
2017†	Australia	6	0	0	—	0	0
2018		2
Career totals		8	0	0	—	0	0

References

1. "Jordan McLean – Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
2. "Jordan McLean: North Queensland star on leaving Melbourne Storm - PlayersVoice".
3. "Raiders.com.au – Official Website of the Canberra Raiders". Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
4. "rleague.com has been shutdown". Archived from the original on 14 February 2015.
5. "Storm re-signs young talent | NRL". Zero Tackle. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
6. "Storm v Roosters at Allianz Stadium". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
7. "Knights v Storm Match Report". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
8. "McLean Sends Message to Injured McKinnon". Nrl.com. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
9. "How One Tackle Changed the Lives of Newcastle Player Alex McKinnon and Melbourne storm's Jordan McLean". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
10. "Jordan McLean needs 'support' after Alex McKinnon tackle | Sport". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
11. "Storm's McLean happy to be back". NRL.com. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
12. "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
13. "Jordan McLean Says He Resigned with the Storm to Repay the Favour for the Support Shown to Him Through Tough Times". Heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
14. "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
15. "Young City side stun Country". NRL.com. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
16. "NRL 2016 grand final: Melbourne Storm v Cronulla Sharks player ratings". Fox Sports . 2 October 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
17. "Reference at www.dailytelegraph.com.au".
18. Clark, Laine (20 March 2017). "North Queensland Cowboys snare Jordan McLean from Melbourne Storm". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 16 October 2017.
19. "Family first for focused Storm star". Heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
20. "Kangaroos squad updated". M.nrl.com. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
21. "Two debutants in Blues team for Origin I". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
22. "Ryan Girdler's Tohu Harris Warriors dig, Cooper Cronk's lucky undies, Macklemore and Matt Cooper". Fox Sports . 2 October 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
23. "NRL 2017 grand final: Storm player ratings v Cowboys". Fox Sports . 1 October 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
24. "Mal: 'Obviously he was clearly upset'". News.com.au. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
25. "Rugby League World Cup 2017: Australia scrape out 6-0 victory in final against Wayne Bennett-inspired England".
26. "North Queensland Cowboys mark Johnathan Thurston's 300th celebrations with a win over Cronulla Sharks - NRL".
27. "Broncos v Cowboys NRL live stream, score: Round 2 goalpost video, Johnathan Thurston".
28. "Foot surgery puts McLean out for three months - NRL".
29. "Reference at www.dailytelegraph.com.au".
30. "Jordan McLean's return for Kangaroos inspired by Matt Scott's courage - NRL".
31. "PM's XIII Announcement - NRL".
32. "After pitch invasion, PM's XIII prevail - NRL".
33. "Introducing Captain Morgan! - Cowboys".
34. "Reference at www.townsvillebulletin.com.au".
35. "NRL 2019: Paul Green filthy at wishbone tackle on Blues hopeful Jordan McLean, Cowboys, NSW".
36. "McLean named Cowboys Players' Player - Cowboys".
37. "Injuries to a key pair rub salt into North Queensland Cowboys loss". Townsville Bulletin. 12 June 2020.
38. "13-game veteran recalled, Eels pair pay the price: Blues Origin II Winners and Losers". www.foxsports.com.au.
39. "'I'm gutted': McLean breaks down in tears as Freddy opens up on 'heartbreaking' pre-Origin injury". www.foxsports.com.au.
40. "'See it in their eyes': The late-season pact and 'massive sacrifice' behind Eels surge". www.foxsports.com.au.
41. "NRL 2023: North Queensland Cowboys season review". www.sportingnews.com.
42. "The Mole: Cowboys show improvement in 2024 but worrying finals stat sparks thorny question". www.nine.com.au.
43. Writer, Staff (15 November 2024). "McLean returns". North Queensland Cowboys. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
44. "Jordan McLean - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project".

External links

• North Queensland Cowboys profile
• NRL profile