Mitchell Barnett

Not to be confused with Mitch Barnett (Canadian football).

Mitch Barnett

Personal information
Full name	Mitchell Barnett
Born	(1994-04-15) 15 April 1994 (age 30) Taree, New South Wales, Australia
Height	187 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	104 kg (16 st 5 lb)
Playing information
Position	Second-row, Prop, Lock
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2015 Canberra Raiders 2 0 0 0 0 2016–22 Newcastle Knights 126 21 16 0 116 2023– New Zealand Warriors 38 6 0 0 24 Total 166 27 16 0 140 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2015–16 NSW Residents 2 2 0 0 8 2024 New South Wales 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1] As of 23 August 2024

Mitchell Barnett (born 15 April 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop or second-row forward for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL).

He previously played for the Canberra Raiders and Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League.

Background

Barnett was born in Taree, New South Wales, Australia.

He started his junior rugby league career with Wingham Tigers Junior Rugby League in 1999, and remained with Wingham JRL until the end of under-16s in 2011, when he was signed by the Newcastle Knights.

Playing career

Early career

After playing in the lower grades at the Newcastle Knights, Barnett joined the Canberra Raiders.

Barnett playing for the Canberra Raiders NYC side in 2014

In 2013 and 2014, he played for Canberra's NYC team. ^[2]

2015

In 2015, Barnett graduated to Canberra's New South Wales Cup team, Mount Pritchard Mounties. ^[3] On 10 April, he re-signed with Canberra on a two-year contract. ^[4] On 3 May, he played for the New South Wales Residents against the Queensland Residents. ^[5]

In round 22 of the 2015 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for Canberra against the Wests Tigers. ^[6] On 27 September, he won the 2015 New South Wales Cup Player of the Year award and was named at second-row in the 2015 New South Wales Cup Team of the Year. ^[7] In November, after Barnett's management discovered his new Canberra contract for the next two seasons hadn't been lodged with the NRL, he opted to instead attempt to sign a more lucrative deal with the Gold Coast Titans. ^[8] However, after Canberra threatened legal action, the signed contract was discovered and lodged, Barnett returning to Canberra to honour the deal. ^[9]

2016

On 8 May, Barnett played for the New South Wales Residents against the Queensland Residents for a second year in a row. ^[10]

On 8 June, he re-joined the Newcastle Knights effective immediately on a contract until the end of 2017, after being released from the final two years of his Canberra Raiders contract. ^[11] He made his Newcastle debut in round 14 against the New Zealand Warriors. He played nine games for Newcastle in his first season at the club as they finished bottom of the table. ^{[12] [13]}

2017

In March, Barnett re-signed with the Newcastle club on a three-year contract until the end of 2020. He made a total of 22 appearances and scored four tries for Newcastle as the club finished last on the table. ^{[14] [15]}

2018

Barnett played 23 games for Newcastle in the 2018 NRL season as the club finished 11th on the table. ^[16]

2019

In round 11 against the Sydney Roosters, Barnett kicked two goals, with one from the sideline, after regular kicker Kalyn Ponga went off the field with an injury. ^[17] In December, Barnett re-signed with the Newcastle club on a three-year contract until the end of 2023. ^[18]

2020

Barnett played 13 games for Newcastle in the 2020 NRL season. He played in Newcastle's first finals game since 2013 which was a 46-20 loss against South Sydney in the elimination final. ^[19]

2021

Barnett played 24 games for Newcastle in the 2021 NRL season including the club's elimination finals loss against Parramatta. ^[20]

2022

In round 3 of the 2022 NRL season, Barnett was sent off for using a raised elbow on opponent Chris Smith during Newcastle's 38-20 loss against Penrith, ^[21] and was subsequently referred to the NRL Judiciary for an ungraded dangerous contact charge. ^[22] Barnett had pleaded guilty and claimed the contact was careless, however, it was found to be reckless in nature, with a six match suspension handed down in relation to the incident. ^{[23] [24]}

In April, Barnett signed a three-year contract with the New Zealand Warriors starting in 2023, after gaining a release from the final year of his Knights contract. ^[25]

2023

In round 19 of the 2023 NRL season, Barnett scored two tries for New Zealand in their 46-10 victory over Parramatta. ^[26] Barnett played 15 games for the New Zealand Warriors in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 4th on the table and qualified for the finals. Barnett played in all three finals games as the club reached the preliminary final stage before being knocked out by Brisbane. ^[27]

2024

Barnett was selected to play off the bench for New South Wales for game three of the 2024 State of Origin series. New South Wales would win the match 14-4 in Brisbane to claim the shield for the first time since 2021. ^[28]

Statistics

Year	Team	Games	Tries	Goals	Pts
2015	Canberra Raiders	2
2016	Newcastle Knights	9	2		8
2017		22	4		16
2018		23	2		8
2019		21	7	3	34
2020		13	1		4
2021		24	4	13	42
2022		14	2		8
2023	New Zealand Warriors	15	2		8
2024 *		8
	Totals	143	23	16	124

*denotes season competing

References

1. "Mitchell Barnett - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 15 April 1994. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
2. "B". Nyc Database. 27 December 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
3. "VB NSW CUP TEAMS ROUND 2". NSWRL. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
4. "Barnett re-signs with the Raiders | NRL". Zero Tackle. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
5. "Representative Round team lists". NRL.com. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
6. "Updated: Round 22 NRL team lists". NRL.com. 10 August 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
7. "2015 VB NSW Cup Team of the Year". NSWRL. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
8. "Raiders explore 'legal avenues' over contract dispute". Zero Tackle. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
9. "Barnett to return to club after contract discovered". Zero Tackle. Archived from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
10. NRL (3 May 2016). "UPDATED: 2016 ISP NSW Residents Team". NSWRL. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
11. "Knights sign young duo". Zero Tackle. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
12. "Updated team lists: Knights v Warriors". NRL.com. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
13. "The worst teams in NRL history". Sporting News.
14. NewcastleKnights.com.au (5 March 2017). "Mitch Barnett re-signs with Knights". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
15. "Knights: 2017 by the numbers". NRL.
16. "Newcastle Knights 2018 season review". NRL.
17. "Knights v Roosters - Round 11, 2019 - Match Centre". National Rugby League. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
18. "Workhorse Mitch Barnett extends NRL contract". Newcastle Knights. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
19. "2020 season by the numbers". www.nrl.com.
20. "Parramatta Eels defeat Newcastle Knights 28-20 in NRL elimination final". ABC News. 12 September 2021.
21. "'Doesn't need me kicking him': O'Brien and Cleary respond to Knights star's 'unusual' send-off". www.foxsports.com.au.
22. "Judiciary Report: Barnett suspended for six games". www.nrl.com.
23. "Mitch Barnett banned for six matches". www.nrl.com.
24. "'I have to be better': Banned Barnett vows to mend ways". www.nrl.com.
25. "Barnett joining club from 2023". Warriors. 19 April 2022.
26. "Ruthless Warriors demolish Eels 46-10 to mark Shaun Johnson's milestone 200th game in style". www.stuff.co.nz.
27. "NRL 2023: New Zealand Warriors season review". www.sportingnews.com.
28. "Eels' worst fears; image Kevvie won't want to see in Broncos' brutal Origin blow — Late Mail". www.foxsports.com.au.

External links

• Newcastle Knights profile
• NRL profile