Josh Kerr (rugby league)

Last updated

Josh Kerr
Josh Kerr.jpg
Personal information
Full nameJoshua Kerr
Born (1996-02-11) 11 February 1996 (age 29)
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Height197 cm (6 ft 6 in)
Weight112 kg (17 st 9 lb)
Playing information
Position Prop, Second-row
Club
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
2019–23 St. George Illawarra 6850020
2023–25 Dolphins 4830012
2026– St. George Illawarra 00000
Total11680032
Representative
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
2019–25 Indigenous All Stars 71004
Source: [1]
As of 31 August 2025

Josh Kerr (born 11 February 1996) is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Dolphins in the National Rugby League (NRL), and also for the Indigenous All Stars. He has previously played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL.

Contents

Background

Kerr was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Career

Kerr was a Redcliffe Dolphins junior and was signed to play in the Melbourne Storm's Under 20s and did a pre-season with them. [2] He made 41 appearances for Melbourne in the NRL Under-20s competition across the 2015 and 2016 seasons, scoring 14 tries. [3]

St George Illawarra Dragons (2019–2023)

Kerr represented the Indigenous All Stars in the 2019 All Stars match. [4] On 21 March in round 2 of the 2019 NRL season, Kerr made his NRL debut for the St. George Illawarra Dragons against the South Sydney Rabbitohs. [5]

In 2020, Kerr played all twenty games for St. George Illawarra and scored two tries. [1] Kerr's form got him selected for the Queensland twenty-seven man squad for the 2020 State of Origin series,. [6] Although Kerr did not play any games in Queensland's 2-1 Series win, he was 18th man in Origin 2. [7]

In the 2021 NRL season, Kerr played a total of nineteen matches for St. George Illawarra and scored two tries as the club finished 11th on the table and missed out on the finals. [8] On 5 July, Kerr was fined $18,000 by the NRL and suspended for one game after breaching the game's Covid-19 biosecurity protocols when he attended a party along with twelve other St. George Illawarra players at Paul Vaughan's property. [9]

In the 2022 NRL season, Kerr played seven games for St George Illawarra. The team finished tenth on the table and missed the finals for a fourth straight year. [10]

In April 2023, Kerr signed a contract with the Dolphins club for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. [11] He continuing playing for St. George Illawarra in the 2023 NRL season. [12] However, Kerr was granted an early release on 18 June from the Dragons to join the Dolphins immediately. [13]

Dolphins (2023–present)

Kerr (second from left) with other Dolphins NRL players in 2024 K Bromwich + Josh Kerr + Tesi Niu + Connelly Lemuelu.jpg
Kerr (second from left) with other Dolphins NRL players in 2024

In the 2023 NRL season, Kerr made his debut for the Dolphins in their round 17 match against the Parramatta Eels at Sunshine Coast Stadium. [14] Kerr played a total of eight games for the Dolphins that year. Kerr played a total of 19 games for the Dolphins in the 2024 NRL season as the club finished 10th on the table. [15]

In round 7 of the 2025 NRL season, Kerr made his 100th NRL appearance scoring a try in a 42–22 upset win over the Melbourne Storm. [16]

In July, he was named as the 19th man for Queensland in the 2025 State of Origin series. The following day, Kerr was placed under investigation by the NRL for comments he made about referee Ashley Klein. Kerr said in an interview “I’m not sure how much trouble I could get into for saying it but geez I thought Ash Klein did a bit to try even it up or make it a bit closer, We were sitting there going, ‘it’s rorted, the game’s rorted", We were all on the sideline just going, ‘oh, no, it’s a double agent’. The NRL later fined Kerr $10,000 over the comments however his club the Dolphins were set to contest the fine. [17]

On 6 August 2025, St. George Illawarra announced that Kerr would return to the club in 2026 after securing a release from the Dolphins. [18]

Statistics

As of 20 April 2025

YearTeamGamesTriesPts
2019 St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons 714
20202028
20212028
2022700
2023 St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons 1400
Dolphins colours.png Dolphins 800
2024 Dolphins colours.png Dolphins 1928
20251614
2026 St. George colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons
Total111832

source: [19]

References

  1. 1 2 "Josh Kerr - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project.
  2. Edwards, Colleen (27 August 2020). "Forward thinking: How Josh Kerr is finding career best form up front". Queensland Rugby League. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  3. "18th Man - Josh Kerr". 18thman.com. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  4. "Indigenous All Stars defeat Māori All Stars". news.com.au. 15 February 2019. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019.
  5. "TripADeal NRL team announcement: Round 2 v South Sydney Rabbitohs". St George Illawarra Dragons. 19 March 2019. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  6. Pengilly, Adam (7 October 2020). "Queensland names Dragons prop as bolter as Bennett opts for youth". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  7. "NSW & QLD State of Origin teams 2020". The Roar. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  8. "Luckless Cowboy ends 14-game losing streak; Dragons find their new No.6: 3 Big Hits". www.foxsports.com.au. 28 August 2021.
  9. "St George Illawarra Dragons players fined $305,000 and given match suspensions". National Rugby League . 5 July 2021. Archived from the original on 6 July 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  10. "NRL 2022: St George Illawarra Dragons season review". www.sportingnews.com. 13 September 2022.
  11. "Dolphins poach Dragons forward amid signing spree". 26 April 2023.
  12. St. George Illawarra Dragons, Josh Kerr
  13. "Kerr coming home to Dolphins in 2023". The Dolphins. 17 June 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  14. "Dolphins v Eels".
  15. "The Mole's end-of-season review: How one star 'lost his way' as Dolphins struggle with 'demanding' schedule". www.nine.com.au.
  16. Edwards, Colleen (19 April 2025). "Kerr celebrates century with momentum changing shift". NRL.com. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  17. "'He was looking for a laugh': Kerr set to challenge fine for controversial Origin ref comments". www.foxsports.com.au.
  18. "Dragons sign Josh Kerr from 2026". St George Illawarra Dragons. 6 August 2025. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  19. "Josh Kerr - Playing Career - RLP". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 7 July 2024.