Ashley Harrison

Ashley Harrison (born 18 May 1981) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a lock in the 2000s and 2010s.

Ash Harrison
Personal information
Full nameAshley Harrison
Born (1981-05-18) 18 May 1981
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Playing information
Height188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight97 kg (15 st 2 lb)
PositionLock, Five-eighth, Second-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2000–02 Brisbane Broncos 52 16 0 0 64
2003–05 South Sydney 66 21 0 0 84
2006–07 Sydney Roosters 41 7 0 0 28
2008–14 Gold Coast Titans 117 12 0 0 48
Total 276 56 0 0 224
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2005 Prime Minister's XIII 1 0 0 0 0
2005–13 Queensland 15 0 0 0 0
2011–13 NRL All Stars 2 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]

He played for the Gold Coast Titans[2] of the NRL. A Queensland State of Origin representative lock forward, he has played club football previously for the Brisbane Broncos (with whom he won the 2000 NRL Premiership), the Sydney Roosters and the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Background

Harrison was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Playing career

Early career

Harrison attended Wavell State High School in Brisbane, Queensland, and played junior football for Brisbane Brothers and Norths Aspley.[3][4]

He represented the Australian Schoolboys team in 1998.[5]

Brisbane Broncos

Harrison made his debut in the National Rugby League for the Brisbane Broncos against the New Zealand Warriors on 20 February 2000 (Round 3). He played from the interchange bench for the Broncos in their 2000 NRL grand final victory over the Sydney Roosters.

Having won the 2000 NRL Premiership, the Broncos traveled to England to play against 2000's Super League V Champions, St Helens R.F.C. for the 2001 World Club Challenge, with Harrison playing from the interchange bench in Brisbane's loss.

South Sydney Rabbitohs

After moving to the South Sydney Rabbitohs, he was named the club's player of the year, winning the George Piggins Medal in 2004,[6] and serving as the club's captain for a brief period in 2005.[7]

Harrison was selected to play for one State of Origin match, playing for the Queensland Maroons in game 3, 2005, thus become South Sydney's first Queensland Origin representative in many years.

Harrison's elevation to the Souths captaincy in 2005 proved to be a turning point in both the club's 2005 season and his career, as the team won six of their final eight matches under his captaincy to avoid the wooden spoon (the only losses in that period were against the eventual Grand Finalists, Wests Tigers and North Queensland).

Sydney Roosters

Harrison moved to South Sydney's arch rivals the Sydney Roosters for the 2006 NRL season. He managed 41 out of a possible 48 matches at the Roosters.

Harrison playing for the Gold Coast Titans in 2008

Gold Coast Titans

Harrison returned to Queensland to play for the Gold Coast Titans from 2008.[7] At the Titans, he started at lock and performed well covering five-eighth also while Matthew Rogers was out on suspension.

As a result, he was named 18th man for the 2008 State of Origin series for Queensland. He started in both the second and third State of Origin games. Harrison was picked ahead of his club captain Scott Prince (who was only drafted into the squad after a knee injury sustained by Darren Lockyer) to play in the second State of Origin on 11 June 2008.

In April 2009, he was named in the preliminary 25-man squad to represent Queensland in the opening State of Origin match for 2009.[8]

In the 2009 NRL season, Harrison was part of the first Gold Coast team to reach the finals. Harrison played in both finals matches against the Brisbane Broncos and Parramatta. The following year, Harrison was a member of the Gold Coast side which enjoyed their best season on the field as they eventually reached the preliminary final before being defeated by Harrison's old club the Sydney Roosters. In the 2011 NRL season, Harrison was limited to only 13 games as the Gold Coast finished last on the table and claimed the wooden spoon.[9]

Harrison was only selected for Game I of the 2013 State of Origin series in which Queensland extended their record for consecutive series victories to eight.

On 27 June 2014, he confirmed his retirement earlier than he wanted due to a neck injury.[10]

Footnotes
  1. Rugby League Project
  2. "Harrison out, Mason in". Fox Sports News (Australia). 11 November 2007. Retrieved 11 November 2007.
  3. "Wavell State High School Newsletter" (PDF). Wavell State High School. 17 October 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
  4. "SportingPulse Homepage for Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". SportingPulse. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
  5. "Teams and Results (1972 - 2009)". Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
  6. "Club records". rabbitohs.com.au. South Sydney Rabbitohs. 2007. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
  7. "Titans snare Harrison". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 12 November 2007. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
  8. "Queensland name preliminary State of Origin squad". Fox Sports. 28 April 2009. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
  9. "Parramatta Eels defeat the Gold Coast Titans to avoid wooden spoon for 2011". Daily Telegraph.
  10. http://www.triplem.com.au/sydney/sport/nrl/news/2014/4/ashley-harrison-of-gold-coast-titans-announces-retirement/
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