Reuben Cotter

Reuben Cotter

Personal information
Born	(1998-12-28) 28 December 1998 (age 25) Mackay, Queensland, Australia
Height	180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	95 kg (14 st 13 lb)
Playing information
Position	Lock, Prop, Hooker
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2019– North Qld Cowboys 71 7 0 0 28 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2021–22 Indigenous All Stars 2 0 0 0 0 2022–23 Queensland 4 0 0 0 0 2022–23 Australia 5 0 0 0 0 2023 Prime Minister's XIII 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1] As of 24 May 2024

Reuben Cotter (born 28 December 1998) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays primarily as a lock or prop for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australia at international level.

He has played at representative level for Queensland in State of Origin. He played as a hooker earlier in his career.

Background

Cotter was born in Mackay, Queensland, Australia, and is of German Jewish and Torres Strait Islander descent.^{[ citation needed ]}

He played his junior rugby league for the Sarina Crocs and attended Sarina State High School. ^[2] In 2011, he captained the Central Queensland NRL bid under-13 side against Keebra Park State High School, and later joined the North Queensland Cowboys academy. ^[3]

Playing career

Early career

In 2013 and 2014, Cotter played for the Mackay Cutters' Cyril Connell Cup side. In February 2014, he represented the Queensland Murri under-16 side in their 18–14 win over New South Wales. ^[4] In May 2014, he captained the Queensland under-16 side in their 20–18 win over New South Wales. ^[5]

In 2015, Cotter moved up to the Cutters' Mal Meninga Cup side and later that year was selected at hooker in the Queensland under-18 side that defeated New South Wales 22–18. ^[6] In September 2015, Cotter was selected for the Australian Schoolboys side that played a touring New Zealand under-18 team. ^[7] He scored a try in the first Test, which Australia won 70–24. ^[8]

In 2016, Cotter joined the North Queensland Cowboys under-20 side, playing just two games before tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), ruling him out for the season. ^[9] In January 2017, he returned from his injury and was named in the Queensland under-20 Emerging Origin squad. ^{[10] [11]} He tore his ACL again in 2017, and subsequently missed the entire 2017 and 2018 seasons. ^[12]

2019

In 2019, Cotter joined the North Queensland Cowboys NRL squad as a development player. ^[13] On 23 February, he played his first game in almost two years in North Queensland's pre-season trial win over the Gold Coast Titans at Sunshine Coast Stadium. ^[14] Cotter started the 2019 season playing for the Cowboys' Queensland Cup affiliate, the Mackay Cutters, where he scored nine tries in 15 games.

In Round 13 of the 2019 NRL season, Cotter made his NRL debut in the North Queensland Cowboys 20–22 loss to the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at 1300SMILES Stadium. ^[15] He finished his rookie season playing five games, all off the bench.

On 4 September, Cotter signed a one-year contract extension with the North Queensland Cowboys. ^[16]

2020

Cotter began the 2020 season playing for the Mackay Cutters, scoring two tries in a 22–23 loss to the Norths Devils. ^[17] After returning to the North Queensland side in Round 5, he played four games off the bench. ^[18] In Round 15, he started at hooker for the first time replacing the injured Reece Robson. ^[19] He finished the season as the club's starting hooker, playing six games in the position.

Cotter warming up for Australia in 2022

On 30 September, Cotter re-signed with the North Queensland side until the end of the 2022 season. ^[20]

2021

Cotter made only six appearances for the North Queensland club in the 2021 NRL season as they finished 15th on the table. ^[21]

2022

In June, Cotter was selected for game one of the 2022 State of Origin series which Queensland won 16-10 at Stadium Australia. Cotter played 18 matches for North Queensland in the 2022 NRL season as the club finished third on the table and qualified for the finals. Cotter played in both finals matches including their preliminary final loss to Parramatta, scoring a try in the 24-20 loss. ^[22]

In October, he was named in the Australia squad for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup ^[23] and played two games in the tournament.

2023

Cotter played all three games in the 2023 State of Origin series. Cotter won the Wally Lewis medal for man of the series. ^[24] Cotter played 20 games for North Queensland in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 11th on the table. ^[25]

Statistics

NRL

Statistics as at 1 June 2022 ^[26]

Season	Team	Matches	T	G	GK %	F/G	Pts
2019	North Queensland	5	0	0	—	0	0
2020		10	0	0	—	0	0
2021		6	0	0	—	0	0
2022		18	2	0	—	0	8
2023		20	4				16
Career totals		59	6	0	—	0	24

References

1. RLP
2. lnarvaez. "Sarina junior playing in Origin curtain-raiser". Daily Mercury.
3. Williams, By Guy (7 October 2011). "Youngsters help create history". The Courier Mail.
4. "Queensland Murri Under 16 team". Queensland Rugby League. 14 November 2013.
5. "Queensland U16s team". Queensland Rugby League. 8 May 2014.
6. "Queensland Under 18 team". Queensland Rugby League. 2 June 2015.
7. lnarvaez (21 July 2015). "Cotter picked for Australian Schoolboys league team". The Courier Mail.
8. "2015 - New Zealand - Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". SportsTG.
9. "Just the start of NRL career for Sarina product". Queensland Times.
10. "Queensland Under 20 Emerging squad". Queensland Rugby League. 18 December 2016.
11. "Welcome back, Cotter!". Queensland Rugby League. 22 January 2017.
12. "Subscribe to the Townsville Bulletin". www.townsvillebulletin.com.au.
13. "Queensland rookies into Cowboys top squad". Queensland Rugby League. 17 October 2018.
14. "Subscribe to the Townsville Bulletin". www.townsvillebulletin.com.au.
15. "NRL team list: Round 13 v Sea Eagles". North Queensland Cowboys. 4 June 2019.
16. "Subscribe to the Townsville Bulletin".
17. "Norths Devils pip Mackay Cutters in a thriller". QRL. 14 March 2020.
18. "Round 5 NRL squad announcements". NRL. 15 June 2020.
19. "Updated team list: Round 15 v Newcastle". NQ Cowboys. 22 August 2020.
20. "Cowboys re-sign Cotter". NQ Cowboys. 30 September 2020.
21. "Storm chasers: Turbo sizzles as Sea Eagles set up epic clash". NRL. 4 September 2021.
22. "'See it in their eyes': The late-season pact and 'massive sacrifice' behind Eels surge". www.foxsports.com.au.
23. Full list of every squad at the Rugby League World Cup 2021
24. "Queensland enforcer Cotter wins Wally Lewis Medal with three 80-minute epics". Fox Sports Australia. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
25. "NRL 2023: North Queensland Cowboys season review". www.sportingnews.com.
26. "Official NRL profile of Reuben Cotter for North Queensland Cowboys - Cowboys". Official website of the North Queensland Cowboys.

External links

• North Queensland Cowboys profile
• NRL profile