Dane Nielsen (born 10 June 1985) is an Australian former 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. A

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

State of Origin representative, he played as a and . He previously played in the

NRL 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 the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Melbourne Storm, with whom he won the 2012 NRL Premiership, the

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

St. George Illawarra The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint-ve ...

, South Sydney and also the Bradford Bulls in the Championship.

Early years

From the

North Queensland North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its tropical northern part has been ...

town of Mackay, Nielsen is of

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

and

Solomon Island Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

descent. He was a Norths Devils junior.

Playing career

Nielsen started his

career with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, making his début on 20 July 2007 against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.

Melbourne Storm

In 2008 Nielsen joined the Melbourne Storm, becoming a regular at centre. In 2009 Nielsen was sent-off for a high tackle in the Storm's round 15 clash with the Wests Tigers. He played for Melbourne on the in their

2009 NRL Grand Final The 2009 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the NRL's 2009 Telstra Premiership season. Played on 4 October 2009 at Sydney's ANZ Stadium was contested between the Parramatta Eels and the Melbourne Storm, the latte ...

win against the Parramatta Eels (which was stripped from the club after their salary cap scandal). Nielsen then went on to play in Melbourne's

2010 World Club Challenge The 2010 World Club Challenge (known as the Gillette World Club Challenge due to sponsorship by Gillette Fusion) was a rugby league tournament contested by Super League XIV champions, Leeds Rhinos, and 2009 NRL Premiers the Melbourne Storm. This ...

victory against English champions, the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headi ...

. Nielsen was named as injured

Greg Inglis Gregory Paul Inglis (born 15 January 1987), also known by the nickname of "G.I.", is a retired Australian professional rugby league footballer. His regular playing positions were Centre, Fullback, Five-eighth and Wing. From 2011 to 2019 he pl ...

' replacement at centre in the

side for Game I and II of the

2011 State of Origin series The 2011 State of Origin series was the 30th annual best-of-three series of interstate rugby league football matches between the Queensland and New South Wales representative teams contested under "State of Origin" selection rules. For the third s ...

. In May 2012, he signed a three-year deal with the

starting in 2013. Later that year he played in the third and deciding game of the

2012 State of Origin series The 2012 State of Origin series was the 31st time the annual best-of-three series between the Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams was played entirely under 'state of origin' rules. For the fourth successive year a Queensland victor ...

which Queensland won. At the end of the season Nielsen played for the Melbourne Storm in their

2012 NRL Grand final The 2012 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2012 NRL season. Played on Sunday, 30 September at Sydney's ANZ Stadium between the minor premiers Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the second-placed Melbourne Sto ...

victory over the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.

New Zealand Warriors

Nielsen moved to Auckland for the

2013 New Zealand Warriors season The 2013 New Zealand Warriors season was the nineteenth season in the club's history. Coached by Matthew Elliott and captained by Simon Mannering, the Warriors competed in the National Rugby League's 2013 Telstra Premiership. They finished the ...

, also the first for the club's new Australian coach Matthew Elliott.

St George Illawarra Dragons

On 19 November 2014, Nielsen signed a two-year deal with the St George Illawarra Dragons, starting from the 2015 season. On 5 May 2015, Nielsen had his contract with the Dragons terminated due to disciplinary reasons. It was alleged that a woman had made a complaint to the St George hierarchy claiming that an intoxicated Nielsen bit her on the leg on a night out on 22 March 2015. The club launched an inquiry into the complaint, and on 5 May 2015 announced their decision to terminate the players contract.

Bradford Bulls

After several games in the Mackay & District Rugby League, Nielsen signed a year and a half contract with the Bradford Bulls on 28 July 2015. Nielsen featured in Qualifier 3 ( Salford Red Devils) to Qualifier 6 (

Leigh Centurions The Leigh Leopards are a professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England, who compete in the Betfred Super League. The club was founded in 1878, and is one of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern R ...

). Nielsen played in the £1 Million Game against

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the c ...

South Sydney Rabbitohs

On 25 January 2016, Nielsen returned to Australia, signing a two-year contract with South Sydney. He also played in the NSW Cup for the Rabbitohs feeder club, the North Sydney Bears. Nielsen made his debut for the club in round 8, playing in the centres in the 30-8 win against the Brisbane Broncos. In January 2017, he was sent home from South Sydney training after turning up “looking worse for wear”, after an alleged drunken night out. He played most of the first half of the season for the North Sydney Bears with the likes of Alex Johnston,

Bryson Goodwin Bryson Goodwin (born 30 December 1985) is a former New Zealand international rugby league footballer who last played as a goal-kicking or er for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League. He previously played for the Canterbu ...

Aaron Gray Aaron Michael Gray (born December 7, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who played seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A heart condition forced him into early retirement in 2015. High school caree ...

Hymel Hunt Hymel Hunt (born 14 November 1993) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a er or . He previously played for the Gold Coast Titans, Melbourne Storm, South Sydney Rabbitohs and Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby Leag ...

, Robert Jennings,

Siosifa Talakai Siosifa Talakai (born 18 April 1997) is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL. He previously played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the National Rugby League. Backg ...

, Cody Walker and even backrower

Tyrell Fuimaono Tyrell Fuimaono (born 6 March 1996) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and forward for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL . He previously played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Penrith Pant ...

obtaining positions in the centres and on the wings.

Later career

On 21 July 2017, English side Featherstone Rovers offered Nielsen a contract which he agreed to in principle but the deal fell through due to visa issues. On 23 July 2017, Nielsen signed on to play with the Mackay Magpies, returning to club that he played with in 2015. On 28 March 2018, it was revealed that Nielsen had been sacked by Group 9 side Junee Diesels without playing a single game for the club. Nielsen was reportedly terminated after an alleged wild night out in Junee. Junee club president Simon Vanzanten spoke to the media saying “We don’t take it very lightly at all and if it was something that was minor everyone gets one chance, but we’ve drawn a line in the sand, “After a few things that happened with the club over the past couple of years we have come on board to make sure we have a club for my kids and for the future. We can’t put up with that sort of stuff".

References

External links

South Sydney Rabbitohs profileNRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nielsen, Dane 1985 births Living people Australian rugby league players Indigenous Australian rugby league players Australian people of Solomon Islands descent Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players Indigenous All Stars players Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players Melbourne Storm players New Zealand Warriors players St. George Illawarra Dragons players Norths Devils players Rugby league centres Rugby league wingers Rugby league players from Mackay, Queensland North Sydney Bears NSW Cup players South Sydney Rabbitohs players