Michael Lichaa

Michael Lichaa (born 18 July 1993) is a Lebanon international rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker.

Michael Lichaa
Personal information
Born (1993-07-18) 18 July 1993
Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
Height183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight90 kg (14 st 2 lb)
Playing information
PositionHooker
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2014 Cronulla Sharks 15 0 0 0 0
2015–19 Canterbury Bulldogs 98 9 0 0 36
Total 113 9 0 0 36
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2014 NSW City 1 0 0 0 0
2017–19 Lebanon 5 1 0 0 4
As of 12 August 2019
Source: [1]

He has previously played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL. Lichaa has played for New South Wales City.

Background

Lichaa was born in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.

Lichaa is of Lebanese descent[2] and played his junior football for the Cronulla-Caringbah Junior Rugby League Football Club and Yarrawarrah Tigers, before being signed by the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.

Playing career

Early career

From 2011 to 2013, Lichaa played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks' NYC team[3][4] On 21 April 2012, he played for the New South Wales under-20s team against Queensland.[5] He was named at hooker in the 2012 NYC Team of the Year.[6] On 13 October 2012, he played for the Junior Kangaroos against the Junior Kiwis.[7][8]

Lichaa playing for the New South Wales under-20s in 2013

On 20 April 2013, he again played for the New South Wales under-20s team against the Queensland under-20s team.[9][10] He was again named at hooker in the 2013 NYC Team of the Year.[11] On 13 October 2013, he again played for the Junior Kangaroos against the Junior Kiwis.[12][13] In 2014, he moved on to the Sharks' New South Wales Cup team.[14] In February 2014, he played for the Sharks in the inaugural Auckland Nines tournament.[15]

2014

In round 2 of the 2014 NRL season, Lichaa made his NRL debut for Cronulla-Sutherland against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs off the interchange bench in the club's 42-4 loss at ANZ Stadium.[16][17] Soon after, he signed a 3-year contract with Canterbury starting in 2015. Two days after the signing was made public, he was dropped from the first-grade team by coach Peter Sharp for a "lack of loyalty".[18] Lichaa was brought back into the team in Round 7, playing off the interchange bench.[19] On 4 May, after only playing three NRL games, he played for New South Wales City against New South Wales Country in the 2014 City vs Country Origin match at Apex Oval in Dubbo, playing off the interchange bench in the 26-26 draw.[20][21] He finished off his debut year in the NRL having played in 15 matches for Cronulla.[22]

2015

Lichaa made his first pre-season appearance for Canterbury in the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines.[23] In Round 1 of the 2015 NRL season, he made his Canterbury debut against the Penrith Panthers, playing at hooker in the club's 24-18 loss at Penrith Stadium.[24][25] In Round 4 against the Wests Tigers, he scored his first NRL career try in the Bulldogs' 25-24 golden-point extra time win at ANZ Stadium.[26][27] In Round 23 against the Gold Coast Titans, he suffered a season ending lower leg injury.[28] He scored 3 tries from 21 matches in his first year with the Bulldogs.[29] He was named in the Lebanon 48-man train-on squad ahead of two 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifiers against South Africa, however he didn't take part in either match.[30]

2016

Lichaa finished the 2016 NRL season with him playing in 22 matches and scoring 3 tries for Canterbury-Bankstown.

2017

In February 2017, Lichaa was selected in Canterbury's 2017 NRL Auckland Nines squad.[31] Towards the end of the season, Lichaa was struggling with form and was told by Des Hasler he was unwanted for next season until Hasler was terminated as Canterbury coach shortly thereafter. Lichaa said to Fox Sports “I got farewelled with three games to go and something clicked in my head and I went out and played my own game, “I think I finished the year showing the type of player that I am, and hopefully come round one, through to round 26 and the finals that’s the player I am, I was lucky enough Deano came on board and I had a relationship with him before. I’m really grateful to still be at the club".[32]

2018

On 2 May 2018, Lichaa was dropped by new Canterbury coach Dean Pay after struggling for form. On May 6, 2018, Lichaa spoke to the media about being dropped saying “You find out who your really good mates are in these tough times, you look at your phone and you see 30 or 40 messages from people, and you know the guys that are there for you at the end of the day, no matter what, and through thick and thin", “You learn a lot about yourself and who your true friends and family are".[33][34]

2019

Lichaa made 13 appearances for Canterbury-Bankstown in the 2019 NRL season as the club finished 12th on the table. On September 16, it was announced that Lichaa would be released by the club after failing to secure a contract for the 2020 season.[35]

2020

For the 2020 season, Lichaa signed with the small club of Cronulla-Caringbah Sharks in the Sydney Shield cup.

On 27 September, Lichaa played for Cronulla-Caringbah in the 2020 Sydney Shield grand final where they defeated Ryde-Eastwood Hawks 32-30 at Bankwest Stadium.[36]

References
  1. "Michael Lichaa - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 18 July 1993. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  2. "Lebanon Name Train-On Squad For World Cup Qualifiers". Rugby League Week. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  3. "L". Nycdatabase.org. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  4. https://web.archive.org/web/20150629142200/http://rleague.com/players/Michael-Lichaa_3373/Stats/. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. "Toyota U/20's Origin squads named". NRL.com. 16 April 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  6. "Toyota Cup Team of the Year". NRL.com. 21 August 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  7. "Junior Kangaroos side announced". NRL.com. 2 October 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  8. "Junior Kangaroos packed with NRL talent". News.com.au. 2 October 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  9. "Under 20's Origin squads named". NRL.com. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  10. "Holden U/20's State of Origin: Queensland U/20's v NSW U/20's - NRL Game Development - South East Queensland". Foxsportspulse.com. 17 April 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  11. "2013 Holden Cup Team of the Year". NRL.com. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  12. "Junior Kangaroos team named". NRL.com. 7 October 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  13. "Junior Kangaroos train-on squad - NRL Game Development - South East Queensland". Foxsportspulse.com. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  14. "Vb Nsw Cup Team Lists - Round One". NSWRL.com.au. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  15. "Squads For Auckland Nines". Rugbyleagueweek.com.au. 14 February 2014. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  16. "Late Mail - Sharks v Bulldogs". Sharks.com. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  17. "Canterbury Bulldogs Maul Sombre Cronulla Sharks". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  18. "Cronulla Sharks Rookie Michael Lichaa Axed After Signing With Bulldogs". Foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  19. "Sydney Roosters Snap Their Three Game Losing Streak". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  20. Michael Carayannis (1 May 2014). "Michael Lichaa star-struck by Brad Fittler for City-Country Origin clash". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  21. "Hulking Centre Jamal Idris Stars in thrilling City-Country Draw". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  22. "Custom Match List". Rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  23. "BULLDOGS NAME 2015 NINES SQUAD". Rugby League Week. 23 January 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  24. "NRL 2015 - Round 1". Rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  25. "Penrith Panthers hold on for victory despite a late comeback from Canterbury Bulldogs". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  26. "NRL 2015 - Round 4". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  27. "Bulldogs beat Wests Tigers in golden point". NRL.com. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  28. Matt Encarnacion (17 August 2015). "Canterbury Bulldogs hooker Michael Lichaa ruled out for the season". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  29. "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. 22 October 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  30. "Lebanon Name Train-On Squad For World Cup Qualifiers". Rugby League Week. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  31. "2017 Downer NRL Auckland Nines squads".
  32. https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/teams/bulldogs/how-michael-lichaa-was-farewelled-from-bulldogs-then-resigned-three-games-later/news-story/3130c9a82d27f5d8c8d17e38e7395012
  33. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/pay-drops-nrl-axe-on-bulldogs-no-9-lichaa
  34. http://www.sportingnews.com/au/league/news/you-learn-who-your-true-friends-and-family-are-michael-lic/10j7dntwsc3mk1eyncypsvpmfd
  35. "Bulldogs farewell five players". Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
  36. "Incredible Sharks comeback earns premiership victory". www.nswrl.com.au.
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