William Warbrick Explained

Will Warbrick
Fullname:William Warbrick
Birth Date:6 March 1998
Birth Place:Kawerau, New Zealand
Weight:1050NaN0
Height:1930NaN0
Retired:no
First:RU
Ru Yearastart:2019
Ru Yearaend:21
Ru Appearancesa:13
Ru Triesa:4
Ru Goalsa:0
Ru Fieldgoalsa:0
Ru Pointsa:20
Club1:Melbourne Storm
Year1start:2023
Year1end:present
Appearances1:44
Tries1:27
Goals1:0
Fieldgoals1:0
Points1:108
Updated:15 August 2024
Source:RLP

William Warbrick (born 6 March 1998) is a New Zealand professional rugby league rugby player who plays for the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League (NRL).

Early life

Warbrick was born and raised in Kawerau, New Zealand, of Māori descent. As a junior, he participated in athletics and also played soccer. He was educated at Rotorua Boys' High School and excelled in athletics, Rugby Union and League. Warbrick played junior rugby league for Ngongotaha Chiefs in the Bay of Plenty Rugby League.[1]

Career

Australian rules football

He began playing Australian rules football as a junior in 2016 on the recommendation of his junior rugby league coach and played for the Western Crows in the AFL New Zealand premiership where he won the Rising Star award[2] and developed as a strong marking forward/midfielder.[3] He was later selected for the New Zealand national Australian rules football team (U18 and senior) and toured Melbourne with the national team to play against the Australian AFL/AIS Academy team.[4] Warbrick has been quoted as saying that he had aspired to follow the professional Australian Football League pathway that was in place for New Zealanders to the St Kilda Football Club.[5] However he lacked confidence in the accuracy of his kicking and prior to joining New Zealand's Rugby Sevens team, he was approached by the Melbourne Storm with an offer before the AFL which put an end to his aspirations.

Rugby sevens

Warbrick made his debut for the New Zealand national rugby sevens team in 2019. In 2021, he won a silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[6] [7]

Professional Rugby league

On 4 November 2021, Warbrick signed with the Melbourne Storm on a two-year contract.[8] He spent the majority of the 2022 season playing for Melbourne's affiliate club Sunshine Coast Falcons, scoring ten tries from 14 appearances in the Queensland Cup.

In round 1 of the 2023 NRL season, Warbrick made his NRL and Melbourne Storm debut against the Parramatta Eels. He had his Storm debut jersey (cap 225) presented to him by his sister.[9] Warbrick played a total of 25 games for Melbourne in the 2023 NRL season and scored 17 tries as Melbourne finished third on the table. In the semi-final against the Sydney Roosters, he scored a try with two minutes remaining to win the game for Melbourne. The following week, Warbrick played in the clubs preliminary final loss against Penrith.[10]

NRL statistics

!Year!Team!Games!Tries!Pts
2023 Melbourne Storm251768
202413624
Totals382392

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Will Warbrick Profile – Melbourne Storm . melbournestorm.com.au . 25 October 2022.
  2. Web site: From AFL to rugby sevens, Warbrick finds league home . Yahoo! Sports . Australian Associated Press . 26 March 2023 . 9 March 2023.
  3. https://aflnz.co.nz/aflnz-premiership/western-crows-retain-stevens-warbrick-and-burdett/ Western Crows retain Stevens, Warbrick and Burdett
  4. https://worldfootynews.com/article.php/20160420005112511 Huge ANZAC Day weekend for AFLNZ
  5. https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/always-a-dream-how-the-afl-almost-won-over-a-rising-storm-star-20230308-p5cqd5.html ‘Always a dream’: How the AFL almost won over a rising Storm star
  6. Web site: Warbrick William . Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games . 26 July 2021 . 26 July 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210726092233/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/rugby-sevens/athlete-profile-n1473865-warbrick-william.htm . dead .
  7. Web site: William Warbrick . New Zealand Rugby . 26 July 2021.
  8. Web site: Storm sign Olympic Games medal winner. 4 November 2021. Melbourne Storm.
  9. Web site: Will Warbrick debut jersey presentation. melbournestorm.com.au . 20 March 2023.
  10. Web site: NRL 2023: Melbourne Storm season review. sportingnews.com.