Jonathon Reuben

Australian rugby league player

Jonathon Reuben
Personal information
Full nameJonathon Reuben
Born (1993-03-10) 10 March 1993 (age 31)
Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Height180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight88 kg (13 st 12 lb)
Playing information
PositionWing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2022 St. George Illawarra 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]
As of 11 June 2022

Jonathon Reuben (born 10 March 1993) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a winger, currently for the Wynnum-Manly Seagulls in the Queensland Cup.

After a storied Queensland Cup career, Reuben made his professional debut for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL at the age of 29 years and 92 days becoming the oldest debutant in the modern era[2][3].

Background

Reuben was a Norths Devils junior.[4] Outside of Rugby League, he works as an Operations Manager for Clontarf[5].

Playing career

2011 - 2021

Reuben started his career as a junior in North Queensland, playing for the likes of Townsville Centrals. He spent three seasons with the Canberra Raiders developmental side scoring 44 times in 46 appearances[6], finishing the 2013 season as the leading try-scorer in the National Youth Competition[5] and earning Team of the Year honours[7]. Reuben spent an additional year with the Sydney Roosters development squad, but was unable to make the first-grade rotation. He returned home to Townsville in 2015 to join the Townsville Blackhawks in their inaugural season.

During Round 11 of 2017, Reuben scored 4 tries against the CQ Capras at Jack Manski Oval to equal the club record for most tries in a single match[8].

Reuben would total 70 tries in 68 appearances for the Blackhawks across 2015-2018, before stints with Sunshine Coast in 2019, and then Redcliffe in 2020[9]. Reuben was awarded the Queensland Cup Winger of the year in 2021 in his first stint with Norths Devils[10] as they won a premiership.

Ahead of the 2022 season, Reuben was gearing up for a return with Norths and had even secured a local job. The weekend before starting, he received a call from his manager that he had been offered a deal with the St. George Illawarra Dragons on a developmental contract for the 2022 season.[6]

Prior to his professional Debut, Reuben had scored 107 tries in 106 appearances throughout his seven-year career through the Queensland Cup competition.

2022 - Professional Debut

In round 14 of the 2022 NRL season, Reuben made his first grade debut in front of his family and hometown friends for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in their 31−12 loss to the North Queensland Cowboys at Townsville Stadium, joining the squad as a late replacement for the injured Mat Feagai.

Reuben played a very reasonable game on debut with 14 runs for 201 metres, 2 tackles, 4 Tackle breaks and one line-break where he caught an intercept and ran 50 metres, beating 4 defenders in the process[11]. His debut at 29 years and 92 days of age makes him one of the game's oldest ever debutants.[12]

For the remainder of the year, Reuben was assigned to the St George team in the NSW Cup where he scored 5 tries in 16 appearances on the wing[13].

2023 - Onwards

After a year with St George in first-grade, Reuben returned to play with Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup[14]. He joined captain Jack Ahearn whom he had played with 10 years earlier for the Canberra Raiders developmental side, and Coach Dave Elliott. The return marked the third time in Reubens career playing under Elliott, first at Townsville's Ignatius Park College in 2008, and again with the Townsville Blackhawks[2].

Reuben joined Wynnum Manly for the 2024 season in the Queensland Cup. During Round 8, he picked up 4 tries in a win against Tweed, again equalling a club record for most in a single game[15].

He's currently third all-time on the try scoring list for the Queensland Cup.

Statistics

Season Team Pld T G FG P
2022 St. George Illawarra Dragons 1 - - - 0
Totals 1 0 0 0 0

References

  1. ^ Rugby League Project
  2. ^ a b Footy (9 November 2022). "Reuben returns for Devils in 2023". Norths Devils. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  3. ^ "Jonathon Reuben becomes oldest ever NRL debutant". New South Wales Rugby League. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  4. ^ "The try-scoring freak on a mission to become one of the NRL's oldest debutants". ABC News. 23 February 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Will try thief's NRL chance ever arrive?". Queensland Rugby League. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  6. ^ a b "The try-scoring freak on a mission to become one of the NRL's oldest debutants". ABC News. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  7. ^ Tackle, Zero (19 September 2018). "2013 NYC Team of the Year". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Player Records & Statistics". Mendi Townsville & Districts Blackhawks RFLC. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Jonathon Reuben - Playing Career - RLP". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  10. ^ "The contenders: Intrust Super Cup Team of the Year". Queensland Rugby League. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Round 14 team lists". NRL.com. 7 June 2022.
  12. ^ "NRL 2022: NRL's oldest debutant Jonathon Reuben pays tribute to late dad and brother". 13 June 2022.
  13. ^ "Custom Match List - RLP". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  14. ^ "Norths Devils: Cup gains and losses for 2023". Queensland Rugby League. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Wynnum-Manly Seagulls - Records - RLP". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 17 June 2024.

External links

  • Dragons profile
  • v
  • t
  • e
St. George Illawarra Dragons – current squad
  • v
  • t
  • e
Norths Devils squad - 2021 Queensland Cup premiers (2nd title)
  • Coach: Rohan Smith