Nick Meaney

Nick Meaney

Personal information
Full name	Nicholas Meaney
Born	(1997-09-10) 10 September 1997 (age 27) Lismore, New South Wales, Australia
Height	187 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	90 kg (14 st 2 lb)
Playing information
Position	Centre, Fullback, Wing
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2018 Newcastle Knights 5 2 1 0 10 2019–21 Canterbury Bulldogs 60 22 59 0 206 2022– Melbourne Storm 72 28 245 0 602 Total 137 52 305 0 818 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2017 NSW Residents 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1] As of 6 October 2024
Relatives	Denis Meaney (grandfather)

Nicholas Meaney (born 10 September 1997) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback or centre for the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League.

He previously played for the Newcastle Knights and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL.

Background

Meaney was born in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. He is the grandson of former Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and Western Suburbs Magpies player Denis Meaney. ^[2] Meaney was educated at St John's College, Woodlawn.^{[ citation needed ]}

He played his junior rugby league for the Ballina Seagulls ^{[ citation needed ]}, before being signed by the Newcastle Knights.

Playing career

Early years

In 2016, Meaney played for the Newcastle Knights' NYC team, ^[3] being named their NYC Player of the Year, ^[4] before graduating to their Intrust Super Premiership NSW team in 2017. ^[5] In May 2017, he was named 19th man for the New South Wales Residents in their clash against the Queensland Residents. ^[6] Later that same month, he played for the New South Wales under-20s team against the Queensland under-20s team. ^[7] At the end of the 2017 season, he was awarded the Knights' ISP NSW Player of the Year. ^[4] In September 2017, he re-signed with the Knights on a 1-year contract until the end of 2018. ^[8]

2018: Newcastle Knights

Meaney suffered an ankle injury in the first round of the Knights' Intrust Super Premiership NSW campaign, ^[9] facing a lengthy recovery period, before returning in round 12. ^[10] With new recruit Kalyn Ponga establishing himself as the Knights' first-choice fullback, Meaney signed a 3-year contract with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs starting in 2019, looking for a better opportunity to play first-grade. ^[11] In round 18 of the 2018 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for the Knights against the Parramatta Eels, after a hamstring injury to Ponga. ^{[4] [12]} He went on to play five games in his debut year, scoring two tries and kicking one goal, ^[13] his final game for the Knights, playing at fullback in his side's 14-24 loss against the St. George Illawarra Dragons in round 25. ^[14]

2019–2021: Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

In round 25 of the 2019 NRL season, Meaney scored a hat-trick and kicked five goals as Canterbury defeated Brisbane 30-14 at ANZ Stadium in the last match of the season. Canterbury missed out on the finals finishing 12th on the table. ^[15]

Meaney made 16 appearances for Canterbury in the 2020 NRL season and finished as the side's top point scorer. The club finished in 15th place on the table, only avoiding the Wooden Spoon by for and against. ^[16] Midway through the 2021 NRL season, Meaney signed a contract to join Melbourne starting in the 2022 season. ^[17] In the final round of the 2021 NRL season, Meaney scored two tries for Canterbury in a 38-0 victory over the Wests Tigers, in a season where the Bulldogs finished 16th. ^[18]

2022–present: Melbourne Storm

Meaney in action for Melbourne Storm

Meaney made his debut for the Melbourne club in round 1 of the 2022 NRL season, against Wests Tigers which ended in a win at Bankwest Stadium. He had his club debut jersey (cap number 218) presented to him by Melbourne Storm teammate Cameron Munster. Meaney would be named joint winner of the club's Best Back award for 2022, in a tie with Ryan Papenhuyzen. ^[19] In round 8 of the 2023 NRL season, Meaney scored two tries and kicked five goals in Melbourne's 30-22 victory over the New Zealand Warriors. ^[20]

2023

Meaney played 25 games for Melbourne in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished third on the table. Meaney played in Melbourne's preliminary final loss against the Penrith Panthers. ^[21]

2024

In April, Meaney re-signed with Melbourne on a two years deal keeping him at the club until 2026. ^[22] Meaney played 24 games for Melbourne in the 2024 NRL season as the club finished first on the ladder, claiming the J.J Giltinan Shield. Meaney played in Melbourne's 2024 NRL Grand Final loss to Penrith. ^[23]

Statistics

Year	Team	Games	Tries	Goals	Pts
2018	Newcastle Knights	5	2	1	10
2019	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	22	6	32	88
2020		16	6	22	68
2021		22	10	5	50
2022	Melbourne Storm	23	13	48	148
2023		25	10	91	222
2024		24	5	106	232
	Totals	137	52	305	818

References

1. Dollin, Shawn; Ferguson, Andrew. "Nicholas Meaney - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
2. "Meaney makes New South Wales team". Northern Star. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
3. "M". NYC Database. 27 December 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
4. Toohey, Barry (9 July 2018). "Nick Meaney gets the nod to make his Knights' debut against Parramatta". The Herald. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
5. "Teams - Intrust Super Premiership NSW Round 1". NSW Rugby League. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
6. "Final Team Lists - ISP NSW Residents v Qld Residents". NSW Rugby League. 7 May 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
7. "Team Announcement - NSW Under-20". NSW Rugby League. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
8. "Luke Yates re-signs with Knights - Zero Tackle". Zero Tackle. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
9. Toohey, Barry (9 March 2018). "Meaney injured in Cup draw". The Herald. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
10. "Reserve Grade match preview: Round 12". Newcastle Knights. 25 May 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
11. "Dogs sign Nick Meaney". Zero Tackle. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
12. "Late Mail: Brown confirms final 17 to face Eels". Newcastle Knights. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
13. Dollin, Shawn; Ferguson, Andrew. "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
14. "Knights vs Dragons". National Rugby League. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
15. "Hat-trick hero Nick Meaney leads Bulldogs to big win as Broncos fail to lock up finals berth". Fox Sports. 7 September 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
16. "Dogs confirm eight-man clean-out in first glimpse of Barrett era". Fox Sports.
17. Riccio, David (6 October 2024). "Locker Room: How every Melbourne Storm 2024 NRL grand final player was discovered and brought to club". Code Sports. Sydney, New South Wales: News Corporation Australia. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
18. "Gold Coast Titans beat Warriors 44-0 to clinch NRL finals berth, Canterbury defeats Wests Tigers 38-0". ABC News. 5 September 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
19. "Munster named Storm's best for 2022". Melbourne Storm. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
20. "Bellamy's headache when superstar returns; Warriors step up amid injury crisis: Big Hits". Fox Sports.
21. "NRL 2023: Melbourne Storm season review". www.sportingnews.com.
22. Staff Writer (9 April 2024). "Nick Meaney to remain in purple until the end of 2026". Melbourne Storm. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
23. "Dally M winner's brutal night as Grant heroics not enough in GF heartbreak — Storm player ratings". Fox Sports.

External links

• Canterbury Bulldogs profile
• Newcastle Knights profile