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Bradman Best

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Bradman Best
Personal information
Born (2001-08-09) 9 August 2001 (age 23)[1]
Central Coast, New South Wales, Australia
Height182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight103 kg (16 st 3 lb)
Playing information
PositionCentre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2019– Newcastle Knights 87 37 0 0 148
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2023–24 New South Wales 2 3 0 0 12
Source: [2]
As of 8 September 2024

Bradman Best (born 9 August 2001) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre for the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League (NRL).

Background

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Best was born on the Central Coast, New South Wales, Australia and is of Indigenous Australian and Welsh descent.[3][4][5]

Best was educated at St Edward's College, East Gosford and he played his junior rugby league for the Woy Woy Roosters,[6][7] before being signed by the Newcastle Knights.

Best is the son of former Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and London Broncos player Roger Best.[8]

Playing career

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Early years

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Coming through the Newcastle lower grades, Best also represented the New South Wales under-16s and under-18s sides along the way.[9][10][11] At the age of 17, Best was invited to train with Newcastle's NRL squad.[8] In late 2018, he played for the Australian Schoolboys[12] and re-signed with the Newcastle club on a four-year contract until the end of 2022.[13]

2019

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In 2019, between injuries, Best split his time playing with Newcastle's Jersey Flegg Cup team and Canterbury Cup NSW team.[14][15] By August, he turned 18 and was therefore eligible to play NRL. Shortly after, he returned from a foot injury in the Jersey Flegg Cup, scoring three tries and being named man of the match.[16] The following week, in Round 23, he made his NRL debut for the Newcastle club in their 4-46 loss to the Wests Tigers at Campbelltown Stadium.[16] In round 24, he scored his first NRL try in Newcastle's 38-4 win over the Gold Coast Titans at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle.[17]

2020

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Despite scoring two tries in Round 3 against the Penrith Panthers, Best failed to provide an assist to teammate Edrick Lee in the final stages of the match; which ended in a 14–14 draw.[18] In response, Lee and Best practiced one-on-one passing in the lead-up to the Round 4 match against the Canberra Raiders.[18] In the Round 4 match, Best scored another two tries and provided a try assist; which had Lee score the try in a similar scenario to the previous match.[19] After the game, Best sparked instantaneous social media attention, controversially likened to other Australian athletes such as Don Bradman for his performance in Newcastle's 34–18 win over Canberra.[20]

2021

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On 27 March, Best was ruled out of action for four weeks with an elbow injury in Newcastle's victory over the New Zealand Warriors.[21]

In round 14, Best was taken from the field in Newcastle's loss against South Sydney and was ruled out for an indefinite period.[22] Best returned to the Newcastle side for their round 20 match against Canberra.[23] In Round 21 against Brisbane, he injured his shoulder during the game and was taken to hospital for scans.[24]

2022

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In round 11 of the 2022 NRL season, Best was taken from the field during Newcastle's defeat against Brisbane with a dislocated elbow. Best was later ruled out from playing for an indefinite period.[25]

On 16 August, it was announced that Best had been stood down from the Newcastle club for not meeting team standards. Best had played in the club's loss against Brisbane in Round 22 but failed to make the team bus which was heading to the airport the next morning.[26]

2023

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In round 18 of the 2023 NRL season, Best scored a hat-trick in Newcastle's 66-0 victory over Canterbury.[27] The following day, Best was a surprise selection by New South Wales for game 3 of the 2023 State of Origin series.[28] He scored two tries on debut for New South Wales as they won the match 24-10 and avoided a series clean sweep.[29]

In round 26, Best scored two tries for Newcastle in their 32-6 victory over Cronulla.[30] He played a total of 25 games for Newcastle in the 2023 NRL season and scored 13 tries as the club finished 5th on the table. Best played in both finals games as Newcastle were eliminated in the second week of the finals by the New Zealand Warriors.[31]

2024

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Best re-signed with the Newcastle outfit until the end of the 2027 season. During game three of the State of Origin decider at Suncorp Stadium, Best scored one of two NSW tries in the game, to win NSW the series.[32][33] Best played 17 games for Newcastle in the 2024 NRL season as the club finished 8th and qualified for the finals. They were eliminated in the first week of the finals by North Queensland.[34]

Statistics

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Year Team Games Tries Pts
2019 Newcastle Knights 3 1 4
2020 11 8 32
2021 17 3 12
2022 14 5 20
2023 25 13 52
2024 17 7 28
Totals 87 37 148

*Denotes season competing

References

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  1. ^ "Newcastle Knights debutant Bradman Best wants to make name for himself". National Rugby League. 22 August 2019.
  2. ^ "Bradman Best - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.
  3. ^ "'Goosebumps': Star player's game changing revelation". The Daily Telegraph. 19 May 2023.
  4. ^ "Bradman Best: Newcastle Knights hand rookie NRL debut". The Daily Telegraph. 20 August 2019.
  5. ^ Walter, Brad (23 March 2022). "League of nations:Stars representing 40 countries". NRL.com.
  6. ^ Newspapers, Central Coast (3 December 2018). "Bradman Best trains with the Knights".
  7. ^ TOOHEY, BARRY (16 January 2019). "Bradman's best to come as young Knight trains with the big boys". Newcastle Herald.
  8. ^ a b "The future: Meet Bradman Best". Newcastle Knights. 11 November 2018.
  9. ^ "SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT | NSW Under-16". New South Wales Rugby League. 8 May 2017.
  10. ^ "TEAM | NSW Under 18s". New South Wales Rugby League. 31 May 2018.
  11. ^ "NSWRL announces NSW Under-18s Men's squad". New South Wales Rugby League. 22 May 2019.
  12. ^ "Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League Team 2018 - Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". SportsTG.
  13. ^ "Knights re-sign three bright prospects". Newcastle Knights. 2 November 2018.
  14. ^ "Bradman Best". 1 May 2019.
  15. ^ "Canterbury Cup NSW Team Lists | Rd 8". New South Wales Rugby League. 30 April 2019.
  16. ^ a b "NRL team lists, Round 23: Bradman Best, Sam Burgess, Cooper Cronk, Matt Moylan, Tevita Pangai Jr, injuries, suspensions". 20 August 2019.
  17. ^ "Knights bounce back from Brown exit to thrash Titans". National Rugby League. 31 August 2019.
  18. ^ a b "How Best got better: The secret to Knights teen star's success". National Rugby League. 8 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  19. ^ "NRL 2020: Bradman Best, Canberra Raiders v Newcastle Knights, highlights, video, stats, supercoach score". Fox Sports. 7 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  20. ^ "'Stunning': Australia lose it for Bradman". www.adelaidenow.com.au. 7 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  21. ^ "Elbow injury sidelines Knights star Bradman Best for lengthy period". www.zerotackle.com. 27 March 2021.
  22. ^ "Adam O'Brien reveals mixed injury news following another loss". www.sportingnews.com. 12 June 2021.
  23. ^ "NRL 2021 - Round 20 - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.
  24. ^ "Knights' carnage as Best taken to hospital, Hunt KO'd by Bronco's shoulder: Casualty Ward". www.foxsports.com.au. 9 August 2021.
  25. ^ "Raiders star's hamstring blow, Souths lose two players to concussion: NRL Casualty Ward". www.foxsports.com.au. 22 May 2022.
  26. ^ "Bradman Best, Enari Tuala stood down by Knights after missing team bus". www.sportingnews.com. 16 August 2022.
  27. ^ "'This is f***ing disgusting': Embarrassing Dogs hit for 66 amid Best hat-trick - Big Hits". www.foxsports.com.au. 2 July 2023.
  28. ^ "'That is rude': Brandy fumes at 'disrespectful' call amid fiery Blues Origin III selection grilling". www.foxsports.co.au. 3 July 2023.
  29. ^ "New South Wales Blues avoid State of Origin series whitewash with 24-10 victory over Queensland Maroons in Sydney". ABC News. 12 July 2023.
  30. ^ "Kalyn Ponga injured after starring in Newcastle Knights victory over Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks to seal NRL finals spot". ABC News. 27 August 2023.
  31. ^ "NRL 2023: Newcastle Knights season review". www.sportingnews.com. 19 September 2023.
  32. ^ "Knights re-sign Bradman Best". Newcastle Knights. 13 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  33. ^ Howcroft, Jonathan (17 July 2024). "NSW Blues beat Queensland Maroons: State of Origin 2024 Game 3 – as it happened". The Guardian.
  34. ^ "Brutal reality Newcastle must accept before solving confidence-killing 'riddle'". www.nine.com.au.
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