Luke Dorn (born 2 July 1982) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a fullback, stand-off and scrum-half in the NRL and the Super League in the 2000s and 2010s.
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| Full name | Luke Dorn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 2 July 1982 Maitland, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 86 kg (13 st 8 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Fullback, Stand-off, Scrum-half | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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He played for the Northern Eagles, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League. He played for the London Broncos, Salford City Reds, Harlequins RL and the Castleford Tigers (Heritage No. 882) in two separate spells in the European Super League.
Background edit
Dorn was born in Maitland, New South Wales, Australia, and played junior rugby league for the East Maitland Griffins and Morpeth Bulls.[5] He represented the Australian Schoolboys team in 2000 whilst attending Maitland All Saints College.[6][7]
Playing career edit
Dorn made his first grade debut for the Northern Eagles in round 4 of the 2002 NRL season. He played in the club's final game in round 26 of the same year when they lost to Penrith 68–28. The following year, the Northern Eagles reverted to Manly and Dorn played in their first game back in the competition, a 20–30 loss against North Queensland at Dairy Farmers Stadium.[8][7]
In 2005 he moved to the Super League competition, joining the London Broncos, scoring 23 tries in 28 games in his first season and developing a reputation as a prolific try scorer.[9] In 2007 Dorn moved to the Salford City Reds,[10] but was less successful and the team was relegated at the end of the season. Dorn then joined the Castleford Tigers in 2008, scoring 19 tries in 26 games,[11] before returning to the London Broncos (then known as Harlequins RL) in 2009.[9][12] In total Dorn played for the London Broncos 160 times in two spells, becoming the club's all-time record try scorer with 104 tries. He scored his 100th try for the Broncos in a spell where he scored eight tries in two back to back games.
At the end of 2013, Dorn signed for the Castleford Tigers for a second time.[13] Castleford coach, Daryl Powell, said of him: "Luke is a player I have admired for a long time, his ability to play at half-back or full-back is massive and his leadership qualities and experience make him a key recruitment for us next season."[13]
He enjoyed a career resurgence in 2014 and appeared in the 2014 Challenge Cup Final defeat by the Leeds Rhinos at Wembley Stadium,[14] his first major final.[7]
The following year, he signed a one-year extension to his contract.[15] He played only 14 times in the 2015 season due to injuries, scoring ten tries.[16] Dorn retired from Super League Rugby at the end of the 2016 season and returned to Australia.[17] He played for Maitland Pickers in 2017, becoming player-coach for the 2018 season before retiring from playing at the end of the year.[5][18][7]
Statistics edit
| Year | Team | Matches | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 |  Northern Eagles |
19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 2003 |  Manly Sea Eagles |
18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 2004 |  Sydney Roosters |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | London Broncos | 31 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 96 |
| 2006 |  Harlequins RL |
27 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 72 |
| 2007 |  Salford City Reds |
29 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 44 |
| 2008 |  Castleford Tigers |
26 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 76 |
| 2009 | Harlequins RL |
22 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 52 |
| 2010 | Harlequins RL |
19 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 72 |
| 2011 | Harlequins RL |
23 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 62 |
| 2012 |  London Broncos |
24 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 64 |
| 2013 | London Broncos |
20 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 2014 | Castleford Tigers |
24 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 76 |
| 2015 | Castleford Tigers |
14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
| 2016 | Castleford Tigers |
21 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 56 |
References edit
- ^ "Castleford Tigers 1st Team Luke Dorn". Official Castleford Tigers web site. Castleford Tigers Rugby League Football Club Ltd. 2015. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
- ^ loverugbyleague
- ^ RLP
- ^ Yesterday's Hero Archived 16 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Callinan, Josh (12 July 2018). "Newcastle Rugby League: Maitland Pickers captain-coach Luke Dorn set to finish decorated playing career". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ "Australian Schoolboys". Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League. sportingpulse.com. January 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
- ^ a b c d Callinan, Josh (17 November 2016). "Pickers recruit Luke Dorn back in Maitland after 12 years in English Super League". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ "Manly tell Dorn: look elsewhere". The Sydney Morning Herald. 18 September 2003. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ a b Burke, David (20 September 2006). "Harlequins coach Brian McDermott gets his man". The Telegraph. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ "Salford land Dorn on two year deal". Manchester Evening News. 15 February 2007. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ Gordon, James (10 September 2013). "Luke Dorn returns to Castleford". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ "Dorn of a new era at Harlequins". Evening Standard. London. 12 February 2009. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
- ^ a b "Luke Dorn: Castleford sign London Broncos utility back". BBC Sport. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ "Leeds lift Challenge Cup after Ryan Hall's double stuns Castleford". The Guardian. London. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
- ^ "Luke Dorn: Castleford Tigers half-back signs contract extension". BBC Sport. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ "Dorn to hang up boots at end of season". ITV News. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ "Luke Dorn: Family inspired Australia return for Castleford Tigers favourite". BBC Sport. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ Hartshorn, Michael (12 August 2017). "Maitland Pickers name Luke Dorn as first grade coach". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 3 July 2019.