Kane Cleal (born 5 April 1984) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who formerly played in the NRL. He played for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Kane Cleal
Personal information
Full nameKane Cleal
Born (1984-04-05) 5 April 1984 (age 40)
Manly, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Height182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight103 kg (16 st 3 lb)
PositionProp, Second-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2004–05 Manly Sea Eagles 14 1 0 0 4
2006 South Sydney 9 0 0 0 0
2007–08 Canterbury Bulldogs 19 2 0 0 8
Total 42 3 0 0 12
Source: [1]

Background edit

Kane is the son of Manly, NSW and Australian rugby league footballer, Noel Cleal. He played his junior rugby league for the Warialda Wombats before joining the Hills Bulls when the family moved to Sydney. Cleal graduated from Gilroy College, Castle Hill in 2001 and entered the JETS program at the Parramatta Eels.

Playing career edit

Cleal made his first grade debut for Manly-Warringah in Round 3 of the 2004 NRL season against Cronulla-Sutherland at Shark Park. Cleal made nine appearances in his debut season, and another five in 2005.

In the 2006 NRL season, Cleal joined South Sydney. He played nine games for Souths as the club finished last on the table. Cleal was subsequently released by Souths and he joined Canterbury-Bankstown for the 2007 NRL season.[2]

Cleal scored his first try for Canterbury-Bankstown in the 2007 Good Friday clash against his former club South Sydney, with the Bulldogs winning 34–10.[3][4]

Cleal suffered a severe broken jaw on 8 July 2007 in a tackle with Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks prop Ben Ross. The second such injury of his career, the first occurring in the 2002 S.G Ball Cup grand final, it ended his 2007 season. In the 2008 NRL season, Cleal only played four games for Canterbury as they club finished last on the table and claimed the wooden spoon.[5]

Cleal resigned with South Sydney for the 2009 and 2010 seasons.[6][7] However, he suffered a career-ending hand injury during pre-season training and retired from the game at the end of 2009 aged 25.

In 2013, Cleal signed on to play one game for the Coolah Kangaroos in the Castlereagh Cup.[8]

References edit

  1. ^ "Kane Cleal – Career Stats & Summary – Rugby League Project". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  2. ^ "The worst teams in NRL history". Sporting News.
  3. ^ "Rleague.com – Cleal, Kane". Archived from the original on 27 March 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2007.
  4. ^ "South Sydney Rabbitohs Rugby League Player Report – Kane Cleal". ssralmanac.com.
  5. ^ "Most boring team ever? 2008 wooden spoon Bulldogs would beat 2017 version by twenty points". The81stminute.
  6. ^ "Rabbitohs Sign Kane Cleal for 2009 and 2010". South Sydney Rabbitohs. 2 October 2008. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2008.
  7. ^ "2009 NRL Player Movements". NRL Live. 4 October 2008. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. Retrieved 4 October 2008.
  8. ^ "Cleal signs with Coolah Kangaroos". 19 April 2013.

External links edit