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| Born | 29 June 1981 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Five-eighth | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 4 January 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Father | Arthur Branighan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Ray Branighan (uncle) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Luke Branighan (born 29 June 1981) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s. He played in the National Rugby League for the St George Illawarra Dragons and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, primarily as a five-eighth.
He is the nephew of both Ray Branighan and son of Arthur Branighan.
Branighan made his debut with St George Illawarra halfway through 2000. He remained in the first-grade team for the rest of the season, playing in the halves with Trent Barrett. [3] He joined the Sharks in 2001, but made only one further NRL appearance.
While playing for NSW Cup side Balmain Tigers in 2005, Branighan was selected to tour with the Malta Knights. [4] [5] In 2009 he played for the Gateshead Thunder and in 2010 he played for Halifax in the Co-operative Championship. [6]
Returning to Australia, Branighan played for Mounties in the Bundaberg Red Cup in 2011. In 2012, he became captain-coach of the Young Cherrypickers in the Group 9 competition. [7]
The Newcastle Thunder is a professional rugby league club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It was founded in 2000 as Gateshead Thunder, after the merger of the original Gateshead Thunder into Hull F.C. in 1999. The Thunder were based in Gateshead until 2014. In 2015, the club relocated and changed its name to Newcastle Thunder. In 2024, the Newcastle Thunder made a return to Gateshead as their playing base. They currently play home matches at Gateshead International Stadium. The club currently competes in League 1, the third tier of rugby league in the United Kingdom.
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