Ben Hannant

Benjamin Hannant (born 31 December 1984), also known by the nickname of "Polar Bear",[2] is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Burleigh Bears in the Intrust Super Cup.

Ben Hannant
Personal information
Full nameBenjamin Hannant
Born (1984-12-31) 31 December 1984
Burleigh Heads, Queensland, Australia
Playing information
Height184 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight106 kg (16 st 10 lb)
PositionProp
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2005 Sydney Roosters 8 0 0 0 0
2006–08 Brisbane Broncos 70 5 0 0 20
2009–10 Canterbury Bulldogs 37 3 0 0 12
2011–14 Brisbane Broncos 78 7 0 0 28
2015–16 North Qld Cowboys 52 0 0 0 0
Total 245 15 0 0 60
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2008–12 Queensland 12 2 0 0 8
2009–12 Australia 6 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]

A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative prop-forward, he played in the National Rugby League for the North Queensland Cowboys, Brisbane Broncos, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Sydney Roosters. Hannant is a two-time premiership winner, with the Broncos in 2006 and the Cowboys in 2015.

Background

Born and raised on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Hannant played his junior rugby league for the Burleigh Bears. In 2002, while attending Palm Beach Currumbin State High School, he represented the Australian Schoolboys team.[3] As of November 2016, Hannant co-hosts Gold Coast's SEA FM Breakfast show.

Playing career

Sydney Roosters

Hannant made his NRL debut with the Sydney Roosters in 2005, playing a handful of games for the club. He played in the Roosters' Premier League grand final winning side in 2004 before being signed by the Brisbane Broncos for the 2006 season.

Brisbane Broncos

In late 2005, Hannant moved to the Broncos for the 2006 season. He went on to play from the interchange bench in Brisbane's victory in the 2006 NRL Grand Final. The retirement of Shane Webcke following the grand final left some large shoes to be filled in the Broncos' front row. As 2006 NRL Premiers, the Brisbane Broncos travelled to England to face 2006 Super League champions, St Helens R.F.C. in the 2007 World Club Challenge. Hannant played from the interchange bench in the Broncos' 14-18 loss.

Hannant was selected for the Queensland Maroons in 2008 and scored his first try in Game 2 at Suncorp Stadium, which Queensland won 30–0. In May 2008, Hannant signed a three-year deal with Sydney-based club, the Bulldogs, commencing in 2009.[4][5]

Hannant at training for the Bulldogs in 2009

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

On 8 June 2009 it was announced that Hannant had contracted the H1N1 virus,[6] the first case in professional sports[7] Hannant represented Australia on 25 October 2009 in Australia's opening 2009 Four Nations match against New Zealand in which Hannant played as the starting Prop. He also played in the tournament final on 13 November 2009 as the starting prop against England. It was a 46–16 win to Australia. Hannant's 2009 form drew praise from critics with New Zealand Warriors captain and representative prop Steve Price nominating Hannant as the best prop currently playing.[8] On 25 May 2010 it was announced Hannant would re-join the Broncos on a four-year deal starting in 2011 after he was granted an early release by the Canterbury club.

Return to the Broncos

Hannant missed the start of the 2011 Brisbane Broncos season with a calf injury but returned in round 3 against the Gold Coast Titans.[9] Hannant returned to form after a man of the match display against his former club and was selected in the Australia and Queensland representative teams where he played off the bench. The latter half of the season saw a drop in form for Hannant, resulting in exclusion from the Four Nations series. In 2012, Hannant opened the season strong with a man of the match performance against Parramatta.

North Queensland Cowboys

On 7 October 2014, Hannant signed with the North Queensland Cowboys on a one-year deal for the 2015 season.[10][11]

In round 7 of the 2015 NRL season, Hannant played his 200th NRL game in North Queensland's 28-24 victory over the New Zealand Warriors.

Hannant came off the bench for North Queensland in the 2015 NRL Grand Final against the Brisbane Broncos, and played 38 minutes in the Cowboys' 17-16 Premiership win.[12]

On 21 February 2016, Hannant was a member of the Cowboys' World Club Challenge winning side, coming off the bench in the side's 38-4 victory over the Leeds Rhinos at Headingley Stadium.

In November 2016, it was announced Hannant had re-signed with North Queensland on a one-year-contract extension. Two weeks later, on 17 November, he was forced to retire due to a chronic knee injury. Despite the injury and forced retirement, Hannant was quite durable for the Cowboys in his two seasons with the club. Out of a possible 55 games, Hannant played 52 - including the 17-16 win against the Brisbane Broncos in the 2015 NRL Grand Final.

Coming Out Of Retirement

A year after retiring, it was announced he would come out of retirement and play for the Burleigh Bears in the Intrust Super Cup.[13]

Individual

Team

NRL
Statistics are correct to the end of the 2015 season [14]
† Denotes seasons in which Hannant won an NRL Premiership
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2005 Sydney Roosters 800—00
2006† Brisbane 2300—00
2007 Brisbane 2320—08
2008 Brisbane 2330—012
2009 Canterbury 1830—012
2010 Canterbury 1900—00
2011 Brisbane 2020—08
2012 Brisbane 2220—08
2013 Brisbane 1610—04
2014 Brisbane 2120—08
2015† North Queensland 2800—00
2016 North Queensland 2400—00
Career totals 245 15 0 — 0 60

State of Origin
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2008 Queensland 310—04
2009 Queensland 200—00
2010 Queensland 100—00
2011 Queensland 300—00
2012 Queensland 310—04
Career totals 12 2 0 — 0 8

International
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2009 Australia 400—00
2011 Australia 100—00
2012 Australia 100—00
Career totals 6 0 0 — 0 0

Radio career

It was announced on 21 November 2016 that Hannant would be embarking on a radio career in 2017.

Southern Cross Austereo revealed that Hannant would co-present a new breakfast program on Sea FM on the Gold Coast called Get Up with Heather, Dan & Ben.

Hannant will be co-hosting the show with experienced radio announcer Dan Anstey and former The Bachelor contestant Heather Maltman.

Hannant stated that he is likely to be comfortable in a radio show environment, comparing it to a locker room situation where people sit around having a yarn.[15]

Personal life

Hannant is one of 11 children and is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.[16] Hannant and his wife Emma have 8 children, four sons and four daughters. Their eighth child was born in December 2019 named Pippa Elizabeth [17]

References
  1. RLP
  2. Thompson, Michael (14 November 2014). "Ben Hannant nicknamed the. Polar Bear ready to swealter at North queensland Cowboys". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  3. "SportingPulse Homepage for Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". SportingPulse. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
  4. Hannant signs NRL deal with Bulldogs – Breaking News – Sport – Breaking News Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. News.brisbanetimes.com.au (27 May 2008). Retrieved on 2011-06-02.
  5. "Hannant joins Dogs, with Ennis next target". LeagueHQ. 28 May 2008. Archived from the original on 30 May 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
  6. (in German) Schweinegrippe: 1. Fall im Profi-Sport. Bild.de (10 December 2007). Retrieved on 2011-06-02.
  7. Forward Ben Hannant has swine flu
  8. "Maroons hardmen give their vote to Hannant". Brisbanetimes.com.au. 22 June 2009. Archived from the original on 28 June 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  9. Margie McDonald (25 May 2010). "Ben Hannant returning home to Brisbane Broncos". The Australian. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  10. http://www.nrl.com/ben-hannant-joins-cowboys-for-2015/tabid/10874/newsid/82427/default.aspx?cid=NRL_HP_Latest
  11. http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/oneyear-deal-ben-hannant-agrees-to-terms-with-north-queensland-cowboys/story-fniabn55-1227082541902
  12. https://web.archive.org/web/20151021225936/http://matchcentre.nrl.com/match/2015/111/20151113010/#player-stats 2015 NRL Grand Final - Match Centre
  13. https://www.qrl.com.au/news/20182/03/17/hannant-signs-with-burleigh-bears/ Hannant comes out of retirement
  14. Ben Hannant's player profile at Rugby League Project
  15. Sea FM serves up a fresh breakfast on the Gold Coast, Southern Cross Austereo website, 21 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  16. http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/state-of-origin/the-spiritual-road-less-travelled-20110518-1esq4.html
  17. http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/ben-hannant-ready-for-new-lease-of-rugby-league-career-following-the-arrival-of-his-family-to-townsville/story-fnjfzprw-1227185943010
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.