Rhys Hanbury

Rhys Hanbury

Personal information
Full name	Rhys Hanbury
Born	(1985-08-27) 27 August 1985 (age 37) [1] Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
Height	179 cm (5 ft 10 in) [1]
Weight	93 kg (14 st 9 lb) [1]
Playing information
Position	Fullback, Halfback, Five-eighth
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2004 South Sydney 2 0 0 0 0 2008–09 Wests Tigers 19 4 0 0 16 2010–11 Crusaders RL 30 17 0 0 68 2012–18 Widnes Vikings 174 87 110 1 569 Total 225 108 110 1 653
Source: [2] [3] [4] [5] As of 12 August 2018

Rhys Hanbury (born 27 August 1985) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Widnes Vikings in the Super League. ^[6]

He previously played for the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League (NRL).

Hanbury primarily plays at fullback and can also operate as a halfback. ^[7] He played junior football with Illawarra Wests.^{[ citation needed ]}

Although he was expected to make his début for Crusaders against Wigan Warriors on 5 February at the DW Stadium, ^[8] visa issues made him unavailable until 11 April match versus Wakefield Trinity. ^[9]

South Sydney Rabbitohs

Rhys made his first grade début for the South Sydney Rabbitohs against Penrith Panthers. He made just two appearances for the club, partaking in a loss and a draw. ^[10] He was released and transferred to Wests Tigers in NRL 2008.

Wests Tigers

Rhys made his Wests Tigers début in a Round 2 fixture against North Queensland Cowboys. Star Benji Marshall was injured the round before but Hanbury nevertheless helped the Tigers to an emphatic 30-10 win. Hanbury made nineteen further appearances over the 2008 & 2009 seasons and in these appearances went over the try line four times. However the Tigers failed to make the NRL Finals both times and Hanbury signed for Crusaders for the 2010 season. ^[11]

Crusaders RL

Hanbury enjoyed a successful Crusaders season in 2010. First picked on the bench against Wakefield Trinity, he scored his first two tries against York City Knights ^[12] in the Carnegie Challenge Cup. Hanbury would finish the 2010 season joint top scorer with 12 tries; yet he had only twenty appearances, four less than joint top scorer Vince Mellars.

His 2011 season did not go to plan however. Plagued with injuries, ^[11] he made just ten appearances with four tries. ^[11] It was announced that he would move to Widnes for the 2012 season alongside team mates Lloyd White and Frank Winterstein after the Welsh club's withdrawal from Super League.

Widnes Vikings

Hanbury débuted for the Widnes Vikings in the first game of the season against Wakefield Trinity. ^[13] An impressive kick put Willie Isa through to score but the video referee spotted a pull on Peter Fox by Patrick Ah Van and disallowed the try. ^[13] Widnes would eventually lose the game. Rhys Hanbury scored consecutive points in rounds two and three - a goal against Salford Red Devils ^[14] and a try against newly crowned World Club Challenge champions Leeds Rhinos. ^[15] Hanbury helped Widnes to a 38-30 win over the London Broncos with his second Widnes try. His third was a consolation in a 38-4 defeat by the Bradford Bulls.

Career highlights

• First Grade Debut: 2004 - Round 9, South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Penrith Panthers, 16 March
• Wests Tigers Debut: 2008 - Wests Tigers vs North Queensland Cowboys, Round 2
• First Try: 2008 - Wests Tigers
• Crusaders Debut: 2010 - Crusaders vs Wakefield Trinity
• Widnes Debut: 2012 - Widnes vs Wakefield Trinity, Round 1

References

1. "Rhys Hanbury Widnes Vikings". www.superleague.co.uk. Rugby Football League. 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
2. loverugbyleague
3. LC
4. RLP
5. Widnes Vikings match reports Archived 10 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
6. "Noble looking for new signings". Official Crusaders RL website. 30 January 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
7. "2007 Premier League". Balmain Tigers. 26 March 2008. Archived from the original on 11 February 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
8. "Engage Super League". Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
9. "Official Crusaders RL web site". Archived from the original on 11 April 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
10. "Rhys Hanbury". Rugby League Project. 7 April 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
11. "Crusaders Rugby League". web page. Crusaders Rugby League Club. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
12. "Crusaders RL vs. York City Knights". web page. Crusaders RL. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
13. "Widnes Vikings vs. Wakefield Trinity Wildcats". web page. Widnes. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
14. "Widnes Vikings vs. Wakefield Trinity Wildcats". web page. Widnes. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
15. "Widnes Vikings vs. Wakefield Trinity Wildcats". web page. Widnes. Retrieved 7 April 2012.

External links

• Widnes Vikings profile
• Rhys Hanbury at Wests Tigers
• Balmain Tigers
• SL profile