Zane Musgrove

Zane Musgrove

Personal information
Born	(1996-03-26) 26 March 1996 (age 28) Auckland, New Zealand
Height	192 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	110 kg (17 st 5 lb)
Playing information
Position	Prop
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2016–18 South Sydney Rabbitohs 27 0 0 0 0 2020–22 Wests Tigers 35 3 0 0 12 2023 St. George Illawarra 11 1 0 0 4 2024– Warrington Wolves 20 1 0 0 4 Total 93 5 0 0 20 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2017 Samoa 1 0 0 0 0 2021 Māori All Stars 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1] As of 8 October 2023

Zane Musgrove (born 26 March 1996) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Warrington Wolves in the Super League.

He previously played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Wests Tigers and St George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL.

Background

Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Musgrove is of Samoan and Māori descent and played his junior rugby league for Counties Manukau and the Mangere East Hawks. He was then signed by the South Sydney Rabbitohs. ^[2]

Playing career

Early career

In 2014 and 2015, Musgrove played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs' NYC team, ^[3] although for the majority of 2015, he played for the North Sydney Bears in the New South Wales Cup. He finished that year with 13 games and scoring 1 try for North Sydney. ^[4]

2016

In round 1 of the 2016 NRL season, Musgrove made his NRL debut for South Sydney against the Sydney Roosters. ^{[5] [6]} In November, he extended his contract with South Sydney from the end of 2017 until the end of 2020. ^[7]

2017

Musgrove made 21 appearances for Souths in the 2017 NRL season but his team failed to make the finals for the second straight season. ^{[8] [9]}

2018

In the 2018 season, injuries and suspension prevented Musgrove from making a single appearance for Souths, playing twice for their feeder club, the North Sydney Bears, instead. He was suspended from club activities following a domestic violence charge, but that was lifted after he indicated his intention to plead not guilty. ^[10] He was ultimately charged with property damage, which was overturned on appeal.

In November the West Tigers announced they had signed Musgrove for three years. He was released from his contract with the Souths, and began pre-season training with the Tigers. ^{[11] [12]}

In December, Musgrove was charged with indecent assault for an alleged incident at the Coogee Bay Hotel that occurred two days after he signed with the Wests Tigers. ^[13] In January 2019 he pleaded not guilty. ^[14]

2019

On 1 March, the NRL announced that they had refused to register Musgrove's contract until the players legal issues were finalized. A statement from the NRL read "A request by the Wests Tigers to register Zane Musgrove, who is currently facing indecent assault charges, has been refused until the case is concluded". ^[15]

On 29 November, it was announced that Musgrove was allowed to resume training with the Wests Tigers after being cleared by the NRL. ^[16]

2021

On 31 January, Musgrove and fellow NRL player Asu Kepaoa were detained by the police after allegedly abusing officers and refusing to move on from outside of the Coogee Bay Hotel. They were released without charge, however Kepaoa was issued with an infringement notice. The matter was then passed on to the NRL Integrity Unit. ^[17]

On the 20th of February Musgrove represented the Māori All Stars in the 10-10 draw against the Indigenous All Stars.

Musgrove was limited to only five matches for the Wests Tigers in the 2021 NRL season as the club finished 13th and missed the finals. ^[18]

2022

On 7 January, it was revealed that Musgrove would need to attend Waverley Local Court on 12 January in relation to a driving offence which dated back to November 2021. It was alleged that Musgrove had been stopped by police for driving without headlights on. After the police conducted further checks they discovered that Musgrove was driving on a suspended licence. ^[19] Musgrove played a total of 24 matches for the Wests Tigers in the 2022 NRL season as the club finished bottom of the table and claimed the Wooden Spoon for the first time. ^[20] On 19 October, Musgrove signed a two-year deal to join St. George Illawarra starting in 2023. ^[21]

2023

On 21 February, Musgrove was issued with a breach notice and fined by St. George Illawarra after he was involved in an altercation with teammate Mikaele Ravalawa following the clubs Charity Shield loss to South Sydney in Mudgee. It was alleged that both players were heavily intoxicated after a night out of drinking following the game. ^[22] Musgrove would play a total of 11 games for St. George Illawarra in the 2023 NRL season as they finished 16th. ^[23] On 5 October 2023 it was reported that he had signed for Warrington on a two-year deal for the 2024 season. ^[24]

2024

On 8 June, Musgrove played in Warrington's 2024 Challenge Cup final defeat against Wigan. ^[25] Musgrove played 25 games for Warrington in the 2024 Super League season as the club reached the semi-final before losing to Hull Kingston Rovers. ^[26]

Statistics

Season	Team	Games	Tries	Pts
2016	South Sydney Rabbitohs	6
2017		21
2020	Wests Tigers	6	1	4
2021		5
2022		24	2	8
2023	St. George Illawarra Dragons	11	1	4
2024 *	Warrington Wolves	16	1	4
	Totals	89	5	20

*denotes season still competing

Assault allegations

In May 2018 Musgrove was involved in an argument with his former girlfriend, and on 11 July, faced charges of common assault, common assault domestic violence related, and intentionally or recklessly destroy/damage property. Musgrove pleaded not guilty. ^{[27] [28]} On 19 September, Musgrove pleaded guilty to damaging property and was fined $1,100 and ordered to pay $500 to fix the gate which Musgrove damaged after having an argument with his girlfriend. Musgrove also faced charges of domestic violence related common assault and assault, but both charges were withdrawn by prosecutors. ^[29] In November Musgrove's sentence was overturned on appeal, and he was given a conditional release order and required to be on good behaviour. ^[30]

In December 2018, Musgrove was charged by police for allegedly assaulting a woman at the Coogee Bay Hotel. Musgrove and Liam Coleman, son of former Souths player Craig Coleman were charged with an act of indecency and aggravated indecent assault. A woman made a complaint to security and a further complaint was made to Eastern Beaches police local area command. Musgrove attended Maroubra police station later that week where he was granted conditional bail. ^{[13] [31]} In January 2019 he pleaded not guilty to aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault and common assault. ^[14]

On 21 October 2019, Musgrove was found guilty of assault with an act of indecency and sentenced to a 12-month intensive corrections order. ^[32]

In April 2020, Musgrove had his assault conviction from 2019 overturned by the court. ^[33]

References

1. "Zane Musgrove - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 26 March 1996. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
2. "Musgrove Visits Junior Club in Auckland". Rabbitohs. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
3. "M". Nyc Database. 27 December 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
4. "Zane Musgrove - Player Statistics". SportsTG. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
5. "Updated: Round 1 NRL team lists". NRL.com. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
6. NRL. "Late Mail: Round 1, 2016". Rabbitohs. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
7. Rabbitohs.com.au (31 July 2016). "Rabbitohs re-sign Zane Musgrove". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
8. "Rabbitohs 2017 season review". National Rugby League. 6 September 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
9. "Custom Match List - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
10. Pengilly, Adam (14 September 2018). "Rabbitohs forward Musgrove faces domestic violence allegations". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
11. "Zane Musgrove arrives for first day of training". Wests Tigers. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
12. "Wests Tigers sign Zane Musgrove". Wests Tigers. 22 November 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
13. Proszenko, Adrian (7 December 2018). "Tigers recruit Zane Musgrove charged after alleged indecent assault". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
14. "NRL news 2019: Wests Tigers recruit Zane Musgrove pleads not guilty to assault charges". Fox Sports. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
15. "NRL refuses to register Zane Musgrove's Wests Tigers contract". Sporting News.
16. "NRL clears bad boy Musgrove for training return with Tigers". Sydney Morning Herald. 29 November 2019.
17. "Wests Tigers duo taken to police station after incident at popular Sydney pub". www.foxsports.com.au. 31 January 2021.
18. Conrad, Alex (6 October 2021). "Wests Tigers fans savage the club's new-look logo". News.com.au.
19. "Wests Tigers international forward Zane Musgrove back in court on driving charges". www.foxsports.com.au.
20. "Canberra Raiders hand out 56-10 NRL drubbing to Wests Tigers as Cronulla beats Newcastle Knights 38-16". www.abc.net.au.
21. "Manly sign Cowboys wantaway; Dragons release Burgess in big shake-up: Transfer Centre". www.foxsports.com.au.
22. "Dragons punish stars 'too drunk to remember' Mudgee melee at team hotel after all-nighter". www.foxsports.com.au.
23. "Hunt call that could define Flanagan era; glaring hole that must be filled: Brutal Review". www.foxsports.com.au.
24. "Warrington Wolves confirm Zane Musgrove signing for 2024". Warrington Guardian. 5 October 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
25. "Wigan beat Warrington to win Challenge Cup". www.bbc.co.uk.
26. "Warrington Wolves 2024 season review, February and March". www.warringtonguardian.co.uk.
27. Proszenko, Adrian (15 September 2018). "Williams' career in jeopardy over second strike drugs test". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
28. "NRL 2018: Zane Musgrove, South Sydney player charged with domestic violence". News.com.au. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
29. Lu, Angelique (19 September 2018). "Actions of Rabbitohs' Zane Musgrove had 'hallmarks of domestic violence': magistrate". ABC News. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
30. Thompson, Angus (7 November 2018). "Rabbitoh Zane Musgrove's property damage sentence overturned on appeal". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
31. "South Sydney legend's son charged with assault over alleged incident involving Zane Musgrove". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
32. "Ex-NRL players found guilty of indecent assault at Sydney hotel". 9news.com.au.
33. "NRL players Zane Musgrove and Liam Coleman's conviction for Coogee Bay Hotel sex assault overturned". 9news.com.au.

External links

• South Sydney Rabbitohs profile
• Rabbitohs profile
• 2017 RLWC profile