Mitch Garbutt

Mitch Garbutt

Personal information
Full name	Mitchell Garbutt [1]
Born	(1989-04-18) 18 April 1989 (age 35) Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight	17 st 11 lb (113 kg)
Playing information
Position	Prop
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2013–14 Melbourne Storm 9 0 0 0 0 2015 Brisbane Broncos 3 0 0 0 0 2015–18 Leeds Rhinos 72 9 0 0 36 2019–20 Hull Kingston Rovers 28 5 0 0 20 2021–22 Toulouse Olympique 21 7 0 0 28 2023 Saint-Gaudens Bears 35 3 0 0 12 2024 York Knights Total 168 24 0 0 96 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2015 Queensland Residents 1 0 0 0 0
Coaching information
Club Years Team Gms W D L W% 2023 Saint-Gaudens Bears
Source: [2] [3] As of 13 Aug 2024

Mitch Garbutt (born 18 April 1989) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a prop for York Knights in the RFL Championship.

He has previously played for the Brisbane Broncos and the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League (NRL), and the Leeds Rhinos and Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super League.

He made his debut in the NRL in 2013.

Background

Garbutt was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.

Playing career

Early career

Garbutt played his junior football for the Western Suburbs Rosellas in the Newcastle Rugby League, before being signed by the Newcastle Knights.

2008–2009

In 2008 and 2009, Garbutt played for the Newcastle Knights' NYC team. ^[4]

2010

In 2010, he returned to his junior club the Western Suburbs Rosellas.

2011

At the end of 2011, after impressing in the 2011 Newcastle Rugby League Grand Final between the Western Suburbs Rosellas and the Maitland Pickers, he signed a one-year contract with the Melbourne Storm starting in 2012, with an option for 2013. ^[5]

Senior career

Melbourne Storm (2013–2014)

In round 14 of the 2013 NRL season, Garbutt made his National Rugby League début off the bench for the Melbourne Storm against his former club the Newcastle Knights. ^[6] He played two further first-games for the Storm in 2013, and six more in 2014, all of them off the bench as well.

On 16 July 2014, Garbutt signed a two-year contract to play for the Brisbane Broncos commencing in 2015. ^[7]

Brisbane Broncos (2015)

After playing only three first-grade games for the Brisbane club in Rounds 5, 6 and 7 in 2015, all of them off the interchange bench, Garbutt signed a 2+1⁄2-year contract on 24 June with Super League club the Leeds Rhinos, effective immediately, after being granted a release from his Brisbane Broncos' contract. ^[8]

Leeds Rhinos (2015–2018)

Garbutt playing for the Leeds Rhinos in 2016

Garbutt made his Leeds début on 3 July 2015, in a 46–18 victory over St. Helens. Garbutt was part of the Leeds side that won the domestic treble in 2015, lifting the League Leaders' Shield, Challenge Cup ^{[9] [10] [11]} and the 2015 Super League Grand Final victory over the Wigan Warriors at Old Trafford. ^[12]

His performances for the Leeds club were impressive since his début less than a year ago, but Garbutt became famous for his punch on Australian test prop, James Tamou in the 2016 World Club Challenge, in a 4–38 defeat against the North Queensland Cowboys for which he later apologised for.^{[ citation needed ]} Garbutt was subsequently also part of Leeds 2017 Super League Grand Final winning squad, beating Castleford, 6–24 at Old Trafford. ^{[13] [14] [15]} The 2018 Super League season would prove to be Garbutt's last at the Leeds club, ending a four-year stay with the club where he won every domestic honour as a team available.

Hull Kingston Rovers (2019–2020)

On 9 January 2019, Garbutt received the number 14 jersey ahead of the start of the Super League season. On 13 January 2019, Garbutt made his non-competitive Hull Kingston Rovers' début in a pre-season friendly against the Widnes Vikings, Garbutt claimed a 30–16 victory with his new club. Garbutt made his first competitive appearance for Hull Kingston Rovers in round 1 of the 2019 Super League season, Garbutt who scored a try on his début, went onto record a thrilling 18–16 victory over cross-city rivals Hull F.C. at Craven Park.

Toulouse Olympique

On 28 July 2020,it was announced that Garbutt would join Toulouse Olympique for the 2021 season. ^[16] On 10 October 2021, Garbutt played for Toulouse in their victory over Featherstone in the Million Pound Game which saw the club promoted to the Super League for the first time in their history. ^[17]

York Knights

On 10 Aug 2024 he announced his retirement as a rugby league professional following York's 54-12 win over Dewsbury Rams in R19 of the 2024 season. ^[18]

Honours

Club (Leeds Rhinos 2015–2018)

• Super League (2): 2015, 2017
• League Leaders' Shield (1): 2015
• Challenge Cup (1): 2015

References

1. "The Knights Realm – NYC Player Profiles". Archived from the original on 24 June 2013.
2. "Mitch Garbutt – Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 18 April 1989. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
3. loverugbyleague
4. "G". Nycdatabase.org. 27 December 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
5. Leeson, Josh (7 October 2011). "Storm take a punt on rough diamond Garbutt | Newcastle Herald". Theherald.com.au. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
6. "Rd. 14 LATE MAIL and LIVE CHAT – Melbourne Storm". Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
7. "Sign Giant Storm Prop". Broncos.com.au. 16 July 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
8. "Agree To Release Front Rower". Broncos.com.au. 24 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
9. "Leeds emphatically shut out Hull KR to lift Challenge Cup". The Guardian. London. 29 August 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
10. "Scoreboard". Rugby Leaguer & League Express . No. 2982. 31 August 2015. p. 31.
11. "Challenge Cup final: Hull KR 0-50 Leeds Rhinos". BBC Sport. 29 August 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
12. "Leeds pip Wigan to seal treble after brilliant, breathless Grand Final". The Guardian. London. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
13. "Castleford 6-24 Leeds: Grand Final 2017 – as it happened". The Guardian. London. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
14. "Grand Final 2017: Castleford 6-24 Leeds Rhinos". BBC Sport. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
15. "Danny McGuire guides Leeds to Grand Final success over Castleford". The Guardian. London. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
16. "Mitch Garbutt joins Toulouse for 2021". rugby-league.com. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
17. "Toulouse promoted to Super League after beating Featherstone". Sky Sports.
18. "Two-time Leeds Rhinos Grand Final winner announces retirement: ex-Hull KR star calls it a day". Yorkshire Evening Post. 10 August 2024.

External links

• Hull KR profile
• Leeds Rhinos profile
• Brisbane Broncos profile
• SL profile