Scott Prince

Scott Prince (born 27 February 1980) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a halfback in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s.

Scott Prince
Personal information
Born (1980-02-27) 27 February 1980
Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia
Playing information
Height177 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight81 kg (12 st 11 lb)
PositionHalfback, Five-eighth
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1998–00 North Qld Cowboys 53 9 17 0 70
2001–03 Brisbane Broncos 28 4 7 0 30
2004–06 Wests Tigers 73 18 20 3 115
2007–12 Gold Coast Titans 124 32 293 5 719
2013 Brisbane Broncos 22 4 52 0 120
Total 300 67 389 8 1054
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2004–08 Queensland 5 1 1 0 6
2005–08 Australia 4 3 14 0 40
2007–12 Prime Minister's XIII 3 0 10 0 20
2010–13 Indigenous All Stars 4 0 2 0 4
Source: [1]

An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative, he played club football for the Wests Tigers (whom he led to the 2005 premiership, winning the Clive Churchill Medal), the Gold Coast Titans, Brisbane Broncos and the North Queensland Cowboys.

Background

Prince was born in Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia, and played junior rugby league for Town Lions in the Mount Isa competition. He attended high school at Ignatius Park College in Townsville where he went through the rugby league programme.

North Queensland

He then began his NRL career by working his way up through the North Queensland Cowboys juniors before debuting in the top grade in the newly reunited competition's first season.

Brisbane

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 Prince playing at halfback in Brisbane's loss. The Broncos were defeated by St Helens R.F.C. 18-20 after leading 12-6 at half-time. At the end of the 2002 season, Prince was named the Brisbane Broncos Clubman of the Year. Prince's playing days at the Brisbane Broncos were marred by injury that severely limited his game time. Prince broke his leg on two separate occasions, leading to him being released by the club.

Wests Tigers

Prince starred at the Wests Tigers, becoming captain of the club and making his debut for Queensland and Australia during his time at the club. He was selected as the Maroons halfback for all 3 games of the 2004 State of Origin series. Prince also captained Wests Tigers to their inaugural grand final win in 2005, at the same time winning the Clive Churchill Medal for Man of the Match. That year he also became the first player from the joint venture Tigers club to earn an Australian representative debut. The following year, he played in the 2006 World Club Challenge, captaining the Tigers to 10-30 loss to the Bradford Bulls.

Gold Coast

Prince returned to Queensland for NRL season 2007 to play for the newly established Gold Coast Titans, becoming only the second player ever to play for all three Queensland teams in the top-level: Brisbane, North Queensland and Gold Coast (the first being Dale Shearer). He was named co-captain of the inaugural team with Luke Bailey.

Prince was a star for the Gold Coast before his injury which kept him out for several weeks. Prince made a return for the Titans and they finished 12th on the ladder; one win away from the Top 8.

Prince began 2008 as co-captain with Luke Bailey. It was announced that Prince would replace the injured Darren Lockyer in the second game of the 2008 Origin series. It was initially revealed by the selectors that they were reluctant to select Prince alongside fellow halfback Johnathan Thurston in the Queensland halves as they feared that both he and Thurston would get into each other's ways during the game, however on the night both complemented each other's game and led Queensland to a record win against the Blues (Thurston, for his part was forced to shift to five-eighth to cover for Lockyer's loss). Having replaced Darren Lockyer, Prince himself was injured early in game three of the series, breaking his left forearm, in a game Queensland won 16–10 to win a third consecutive series. In all Prince played five Origins, for three wins and two losses.

In August 2008, Prince was named in the preliminary 46-man Kangaroos squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup,[2][3] and in October 2008 he was selected in the final 24-man Australia squad.[4] He also played one match in the World Cup against England.

In April 2009, he was named in the preliminary 25 man squad to represent Queensland in the opening State of Origin match for 2009.[5] Prince finished the 2009 NRL season as the fifth highest point scorer in the league, with 172 points (7 tries, 72 goals).

In 2009 Prince signed a new contract which would have kept him at the Gold Coast until 2014.[6] However he was released from his contract at the end of the 2012 season.

Prince playing for the Gold Coast Titans in 2010

Prince currently has many of the Gold Coast Titans' individual records, such as the person with the most points scored (603), most points in a match (20) and most points in a season (182).

Brisbane

Prince rejoined the Brisbane Broncos for the 2013 season. He announced his retirement from the NRL on 26 August 2013, effective at season's end.

On 5 September, Prince played his 300th and last NRL game; as well as his 50th game for the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium. His final game was a 16-11 win over the Canterbury Bulldogs, where he made a try-saving tackle in the 15th minute and had kicked 2 goals successfully (but missed one). At the end of his final game, his teammates rushed to hug him when the full-time siren sounded; sending him out as a winner.

Post-NRL

In 2019 Prince coached the Queensland Under 20s team alongside Paul Dyer, losing 36-10 to the New South Wales Under 20s at ANZ Stadium. In 2020, Prince came out of retirement to play for the semi-professional Brisbane rugby league football club Fortitude Valley Diehards in the 2020 season of the Brisbane Rugby League premiership competition.[7] He is contracted to play 10 games, plus the finals series, should the team make it that far.

Statistics
SeasonTeamPldTGFGP
1998 North Queensland Cowboys161--4
19991824-16
200019613-50
2001 Brisbane Broncos1942-20
20022-5-10
20037----
2004 Wests Tigers211-15
20052812-250
200624520-60
2007 Gold Coast Titans227--28
2008165512124
200924777-182
2010214663151
201119538-96
201222461-138
2013 Brisbane Broncos22452-120
Totals3006738981054

Career highlights

Honours

[8]

References
  1. "Rugby League Project". Archived from the original on 16 July 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  2. 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.
  3. "Veteran Lockyer named in Australian squad". International Herald Tribune. 1 August 2008. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
  4. "Manly six win Australia call-up". BBC. 7 October 2008. Archived from the original on 10 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  5. "Queensland name preliminary State of Origin squad". Fox Sports. 28 April 2009. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
  6. Ja, Crystal (15 April 2009). "Scott Prince re-signs for further five years with Gold Coast Titans". Fox Sports. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  7. "Scott Prince is coming out of retirement!". Nine Network. 10 June 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  8. Scott Prince: Achievements Archived 10 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine ScottPrince.com.au
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