Ben Creagh

Benjamin Creagh (born 6 February 1985) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who co-captained the St George Illawarra Dragons of the National Rugby League. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative forward, he played his whole NRL career with the Dragons, with whom he won the 2010 NRL Premiership.

Ben Creagh
Personal information
Full nameBenjamin Creagh
Born (1985-02-06) 6 February 1985[1]
Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Height191 cm (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Weight103 kg (16 st 3 lb)[1]
PositionSecond-row, Prop, Lock
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2003–16 St George Illawarra 270 54 0 0 216
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2005–12 NSW Country 6 0 0 0 0
2005–11 Australia 2 0 0 0 0
2009–12 New South Wales 11 4 0 0 16
Source: [2][3]

Early years

Creagh was born in Blacktown in Greater Western Sydney on 6 February 1985. In high school, Edmund Rice College in Wollongong, he excelled at basketball and rugby league. He later had the choice of joining the Wollongong Hawks NBL side or the St George Illawarra Dragons.

Playing career

Creagh joined National Rugby League club St George Illawarra Dragons and made his premiership debut in round 22 of the 2003 NRL season, against the New Zealand Warriors at Oki Jubilee Oval on 10 August 2003. He was chosen to play for the Australian team for the test against France in 2005.

In August, 2008, Creagh was named in the preliminary 46-man Kangaroos squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.[4][5] He was selected for Country in the City vs Country match on 8 May 2009.[6] In May 2009, he was named in the 17-man squad to represent New South Wales in the opening State of Origin match, held in Melbourne on 3 June 2009.[7] He scored a try on this debut for NSW.[8] On 14 May 2009, he officially signed to stay with the Dragons until the end of 2013. [9] In game three of the 2009 State of Origin series Creagh was sin binned for a brief altercation with an opposing player.[10]

Creagh capped a memorable 2010 by winning the 2010 NRL Grand Final, making more metres than any forward on the park; 149 metres.[11] In the annual club awards night, Creagh was named Dragons Player of the Year. This was the third time he had received the award.[12] In 2012, Creagh set the record for most appearances for New South Wales Country, playing in his sixth game.[13]

St George Illawarra Dragons announced on 18 August 2016 that Creagh was to retire at the conclusion of the 2016 season.[14] At the time, he was the second most capped player in the club's history with 270 first grade games, behind Ben Hornby who played in 273 games.

References
  1. "Ben Creagh". dragons.com.au. St George Illawarra Dragons. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  2. Rugby League Project
  3. NRL Stats
  4. Liam FitzGibbon (1 August 2008). "Surprises in Kangaroos squad". "Fox Sports News (Australia)". Archived from the original on 8 August 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
  5. "Veteran Lockyer named in Australian squad". International Herald Tribune. 1 August 2008. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
  6. Balym, Todd (3 May 2009). "Blues halfback duel in two as Mitchell Pearce misses selection". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  7. Fitzgibbon, Liam (25 May 2009). "NSW selectors go with form and not reputation for Origin opener". Fox Sports News (Australia). Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  8. Koch, Dan (3 June 2009). "Jarryd Hayne hits rocky State of Origin road". The Australian (Australia). Archived from the original on 7 June 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2009.
  9. Barrow, Tim (15 May 2009). "Ben Creagh sticking with Dragons for next four years". Illawarra Mercury (Australia). Retrieved 4 June 2009.
  10. "We've got mongrel - Creagh". Daily Telegraph Newspaper.
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. "Creagh named Dragons player of the year". ABC News.
  13. Michael Chammas (1 May 2014). "Ryan Hoffman edges closer to cap record in City-Country clash for State of Origin". Border Mail. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  14. Dragons.com.au - Dragons Digital Media "Ben Creagh to retire at seasons end". 18 Aug 2016
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