Reed Mahoney (born 22 April 1998) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as hooker for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League (NRL).

Reed Mahoney
Personal information
Born (1998-04-22) 22 April 1998 (age 26)
Bankstown, Australia
Height175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight86 kg (13 st 8 lb)
Playing information
PositionHooker
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2018–22 Parramatta Eels 101 19 0 0 76
2023– Canterbury Bulldogs 31 5 0 0 20
Total 132 24 0 0 96
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2019 Prime Minister's XIII 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1][2]
As of 21 April 2024

He has played for the Prime Minister's XIII. He previously played for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL.

Early life edit

Mahoney was born in Nambour, Queensland, Australia and played junior rugby league for Kawana Dolphins.[citation needed]

Playing career edit

Mahoney started his football in Queensland, playing for the Kawana Dolphins and Beerwah Bulldogs as junior. Before being scouted by the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs for their SG ball team.[3] After playing for Canterbury's Under 20's side, Mahoney was released by the club midway through the year after Canterbury declared he would never play first grade and rejected the offer of $1500 to keep him.[4]

In 2017, he was signed by the Parramatta Eels until the end of 2018 on a $6000 contract. He played in 28 games in 2017 NYC tournament, primarily playing off the bench as a second hooker before obtaining a starting role towards the end of the year. Mahoney led the NYC in tackles and helped Parramatta make the Grand Final. He was awarded the Steve Ella medal for Parramatta under 20s player of the year.[5]

2018 edit

In 2018, still eligible for under 20s, Mahoney shifted to Intrust Super Premiership team Wentworthville, playing 5 games. In round 14 of the 2018 NRL season, Mahoney made his NRL debut for Parramatta against the North Queensland Cowboys at TIO Stadium in Darwin. The following week, Mahoney was placed on report and suspended for one match after being cited for a dangerous tackle in Parramatta's 42-24 loss against Souths.[6]

 
Mahoney playing reserve grade for Magpies.

On 11 July 2018, Mahoney was named in Queensland's under 20s team in their 30-6 win over New South Wales. Mahoney had two try assists in the game. Due to injury, Mahoney was made the starter at hooker for the remaining five games of the 2018 season, expressing his desire to re-sign with Parramatta. On 26 February 2019, Mahoney re-signed with Parramatta until the end of the 2020 season.[citation needed]

2019 edit

On 22 April 2019, Mahoney scored a try on his 21st birthday as Parramatta defeated Wests Tigers 51-6 in the opening NRL game at the new Western Sydney Stadium.[7]

Mahoney made 26 appearances for Parramatta in the 2019 NRL season as the club finished 5th on the table and qualified for the finals. Mahoney played in both finals game for Parramatta in which they defeated Brisbane 58-0 in the elimination final at the Western Sydney Stadium. The following week, Parramatta were defeated by Melbourne 32-0 in the elimination semi final at AAMI Park. During the first half of the game, Mahoney was pinned to the ground by Melbourne player Cameron Smith and slapped twice across the face earning the Melbourne player a rare trip to the sin bin.[8][9]

On 30 September, Mahoney earned his first representative jersey as he was named on the bench for the Australia PM XIII side. On 7 October, Mahoney was named at hooker for the U23 Junior Australian side.

2020 edit

Mahoney scored the first try of the 2020 NRL season as Parramatta defeated arch rivals Canterbury-Bankstown 8-2 at Western Sydney Stadium.

On July 14, Mahoney re-signed with Parramatta until 2022.[10]

Mahoney played a total of 21 games for Parramatta in the 2020 NRL season as the club finished third on the table. Mahoney played in both finals games for the club as they were once again eliminated in the second week.[11]

2021 edit

On 31 May, Mahoney was selected by Queensland for game one of the 2021 State of Origin series.[12]

On 1 June, Mahoney was released from the Queensland camp and subsequently named in Parramatta's round 13 match against Newcastle.[13]

In round 21, Mahoney was taken from the field with a shoulder injury in Parramatta's 40-12 loss against South Sydney. Mahoney had previously injured the same shoulder weeks earlier and had missed a few matches as a result. On 7 August, it was confirmed that Mahoney would be ruled out for the rest of the 2021 NRL season.[14]

On 25 November, Mahoney signed a four-year deal to join Parramatta's arch-rivals the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs on a four-year deal worth $2.4 million. Parramatta had initially offered Mahoney a two-year contract worth $900K but then upgraded a final offer of $1.5 million over three seasons.[15]

2022 edit

In round 20 of the 2022 NRL season, Mahoney scored two tries for Parramatta in a 34-10 victory over Penrith.[16] Mahoney played 28 games for Parramatta throughout 2022 including the clubs Grand Final loss to Penrith.[17]

2023 edit

Mahoney commenced pre-season training at Belmore in December 2022. Mahoney was announced as on field co-captain of Canterbury for the 2023 season alongside Matt Burton.[18]

 
Reed Mahoney during pre-season training for 2023.

Mahoney played in a trial match against the Canberra Raiders in Moruya, New South Wales, winning 34-18 and playing a key role in his 26 minute stint, setting up two tries and exerting a strong influence around the ruck.[19] In round 1 of the 2023 NRL season, he made his club debut for Canterbury in their 31-6 loss against Manly at Brookvale Oval.[20] Mahoney played a total of 24 games for Canterbury in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 15th on the table.[21]

References edit

  1. ^ Rugby League Project
  2. ^ https://www.parramattaeels.com.au/teams/telstra-premiership/parramatta-eels/reed-mahoney/
  3. ^ "Recruit watch: Reed Mahoney". www.nrl.com.
  4. ^ "'Highlight of my career': Mahoney ready for another crack back at Belmore". www.smh.com.au.
  5. ^ "Canterbury could have kept star hooker for just 1500 instead they cut him loose". www.foxsports.com.au. 12 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Knight faces two-game ban, Warrior cops same fate". The Advertiser. 18 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Parramatta Eels thrash Wests Tigers 51-6 to christen new Parramatta Stadium". ABC News. 22 April 2019.
  8. ^ "Melbourne Storm crush Parramatta 32-0 in their semi-final to set up prelim against the Roosters". ABC News. 21 September 2019.
  9. ^ "Parramatta Eels eliminate Brisbane Broncos from the NRL Finals with a thumping 58-0 win". ABC News. 15 September 2019.
  10. ^ "Live NRL: After 65 minutes we FINALLY have a try — Eels rookie breaks deadlock". Fox Sports. 12 March 2020.
  11. ^ "WTF was that?! Eels implode with TWO howlers in 60 seconds of madness". www.foxsports.com.au. 10 October 2020.
  12. ^ "Grant gives Mahoney No.1 nod but hopes to deliver one-two punch". www.nrl.com. 31 May 2021.
  13. ^ "Mahoney released by Maroons; Ponga test has QLD sweating". www.foxsports.com.au. 2 June 2021.
  14. ^ "Awful Eels go from bad to worse as little Bunny breaks a BIG record in rout: Big Hits". www.foxsports.com.au. 6 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Eels dealt ANOTHER big blow as Mahoney joins rival on bumper deal". www.foxsports.com.au. 25 November 2021.
  16. ^ "Penrith's halves crisis deepens in huge Cleary blow as Eels spine sizzles in rout: 3 Big Hits". www.foxsports.com.au. 29 July 2022.
  17. ^ "NRL Grand Final as it happened". www.theguardian.com.
  18. ^ "Ciraldo Announces New Captains". Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. 28 January 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  19. ^ "NRL, Canterbury Bulldogs, Canberra Raiders, Match Report, Cameron Ciraldo's first game in charge off to a good start at Belmore | Bulldogs". Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. 12 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  20. ^ "Ciraldo's reality check as glaring problem emerges; 'masterclass' puts rivals on notice: 3 Big Hits". www.foxsports.com.au.
  21. ^ "NRL 2023: Canterbury Bulldogs season review". www.sportingnews.com.

External links edit