Ben Pomeroy (born 10 January 1984) is an Australian professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who plays for the Saint-Esteve XIII Catalan in the

Elite One Championship Elite 1 is the top level rugby league competition in France, sanctioned by the French Rugby League Federation. The season runs from September to April, which is in contrast to the majority of other major domestic rugby league competitions worl ...

. Telegraph poles for arms, he has played for Cambridge Park RLFC in the Penrith district then went on to play in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

for Australian clubs, the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrith ...

and the

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league ...

, and in the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

for the

Catalans Dragons The Catalans Dragons ( French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. The team competes in the Super League and are the only team from ...

and

Lézignan Sangliers Lézignan may refer to: In geography: * Lézignan, Hautes-Pyrénées, a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department, France * Lézignan-Corbières, a commune in the Aude department, France * Lézignan-la-Cèbe Lézignan-la-Cèbe (; oc, Lesinhan ...

in the

. His usual position was .

Biography

Pomeroy was born in

Penrith, New South Wales Penrith is a city in New South Wales, Australia, located in Greater Western Sydney, 55 kilometres (31 mi) west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Nepean River, on the outskirts of the Cumberland Plain. Its elevati ...

, Australia.

Playing career

Pomeroy made his first grade debut for Penrith in round 21, of the

2004 NRL season The 2004 NRL season (also known as the 2004 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra) was the 97th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the seventh run by the National Rugby League. Fifteen clubs competed dur ...

. After only sporadic NRL appearances for Penrith, Pomeroy signed with the

in 2006. A serious groin injury that year limited his appearances on the field for Cronulla to eight games. In 2007, he became a regular at centre in the run-on side and scored his first hat-trick of tries in Round 6. In the

2008 NRL season The 2008 NRL season was the 101st season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia, and the eleventh run by the National Rugby League. For the second year, National Rugby League teams, sixteen teams competed for the 2008 Telstr ...

, Pomeroy played 26 games for Cronulla as the club reached the preliminary final against

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

but were defeated 28-0 at the

Sydney Football Stadium The Sydney Football Stadium, commercially known as Allianz Stadium and previously Aussie Stadium, was a football stadium in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia. Built in 1988 next to the Sydney Cricket Ground, the stadium was Sydney's premier rect ...

. Pomeroy played with Cronulla up until the end of the

2013 NRL season The 2013 NRL season was the 106th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia. The National Rugby League's main competition, named the 2013 Telstra Premiership after major sponsors Telstra Corporation, was contested by sixte ...

. His final game for the club was the elimination semi-final against

Manly-Warringah The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

which Cronulla lost 24-18. Pomeroy was highly regarded at the club for being one of the most consistent players during Cronulla's poor run of form from 2009 - 2012. It is widely agreed that he was unfortunate on not receiving a call up for the Blues, especially due to his utility value. Pomeroy was signed by

ahead of the 2014

season. In 2015, he was sent off in two consecutive home games against St. Helens and

Castleford Tigers The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England, that compete in the Super League, the top-level professional rugby league club competition in the Northern Hemisphere. The club have competed i ...

, the latter of which resulted in a six-game suspension for a dangerous tackle on

Ashley Gibson Ashley Gibson (born ) is a former English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or er for the Newcastle Thunder in the Championship. He has played for both England & England A at international level, with his full England debut ...

. Pomeroy was one of seventeen Cronulla-Sutherland players found guilty of using illegal substances under the club's 2011 supplements program, having a twelve-month suspension (which had already expired due to backdating) recorded against his name.

Representative career

Pomeroy was selected on the bench for

City Origin The Sydney Rugby League team, known as the City Rugby League team, or Combined Sydney, or Sydney Firsts, or Sydney Capitals, is a representative rugby league team. From 2021, the men's team is to consist of players selected from the New South Wa ...

in 2007 and was also named in the City side in 2008. Later this same year, his successful season was rewarded with selection in the

Prime Minister's XIII Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PM's XIII, is the name of a representative rugby league team, comprising Australian players from National Rugby League clubs that did not qualify for the NRL Finals, or whose tea ...

side to play the Papua New Guinea Kumuls.

Assault charge

Pomeroy was charged with

assault occasioning actual bodily harm Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (often abbreviated to Assault OABH, AOABH or simply ABH) is a statutory offence of aggravated assault in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Hong Kong and t ...

after allegedly punching a fellow concert-goer in the face during a performance by American rock band

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. Originally formed in 1993 ...

at the

Sydney Entertainment Centre Sydney Entertainment Centre (later known as Qantas Credit Union Arena) was a multi-purpose arena located in Haymarket, Sydney, Australia. It opened in May 1983, to replace Sydney Stadium, which had been demolished in 1970 to make way for the E ...

on 20 April 2008. The charges were later dismissed due to a lack of evidence.

Career highlights

* ''First Grade Debut:'' 2004 - Round 21, Penrith vs

Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs o ...

Telstra Stadium Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sydney Olympic Park, in Sydney, Australia. The stadium, which in Australia is sometimes referred to as Sydney Olympic Stadi ...

, 30 July * ''First Hitpass:'' 2004 - Round 23, Penrith vs

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

, 13 August. Shane Cornford rated it as the third best he’d ever seen. * ''First Hat-trick:'' 2007 - Round 6, Cronulla-Sutherland vs

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...

Canberra Stadium Canberra Stadium (GIO Stadium for commercial reasons) is a facility primarily used for rugby league and rugby union games, located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is the largest sports v ...

, 21 April, scoring three tries in a fourteen-minute period * ''Representative Selection:'' 2007 - City vs Country at

Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 as per 2021 census. The Gumbaynggirr ...

, 3 May

Footnotes

External links

Official player profileNRL player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pomeroy, Ben 1984 births Living people AS Saint Estève players Australian rugby league players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Australian expatriate sportspeople in France Catalans Dragons players Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players Lézignan Sangliers players New South Wales City Origin rugby league team players Palau Broncos players Penrith Panthers players Prime Minister's XIII players Rochdale Hornets players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Penrith, New South Wales Warrington Wolves players Australian expatriate rugby league players Expatriate rugby league players in England Expatriate rugby league players in France