Daniel Wagon (born 30 April 1976) is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the

Limoux Grizzlies XIII Limouxin, also known as Limoux Grizzlies, are a semi-professional rugby league club from the town of Limoux in the Aude area in southern France. They play in the Elite One Championship. The club was formed in 1951. They have won the French ...

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 wor ...

. He is a 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 who played for the Aston DSC Bulls in the

AMNRL The American National Rugby League (AMNRL) was a rugby league organization in the United States that operated from 1997 to 2014. The country's first domestic rugby league competition, it hosted an annual league from 1998 through 2013. Throughout it ...

. He primarily played in the back row. He previously played for the

St. George Dragons The St. George Dragons is an Australian rugby league football club from St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until th ...

and

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

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 ...

where he started his career out in the centres before moving to the back row.

Background

Born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

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_ ...

, Wagon played his junior rugby league for the Springwood Tigers and attended

Runcorn State High School Runcorn State High School is a government funded school located in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1986 and has a population of about 1150 students in Years 7 to 12 (aged 12 to 17), 90+ teaching staff, and 40+ support staf ...

Playing career

NRL

After graduating high school, Wagon moved to

Yamba, New South Wales Yamba is a town in northern New South Wales, Australia at the mouth of the Clarence River. The first European to visit the area was Matthew Flinders, who stopped in Yamba Bay for six days in July 1799. The town economy is strongly based on fi ...

and played for the Lower Clarence Magpies. Alongside Daniel Brown, younger brother of then-

St George Dragons The St. George Dragons is an Australian rugby league football club from St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until th ...

Nathan Brown, Wagon travelled to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, where he trialled for the

Manly Sea Eagles 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 ...

and Dragons, eventually signing with St George. He spent two seasons with the club from 1997 to 1998 before joining the

. He was part of the Parramatta sides which suffered preliminary final heartbreak in 1999 and 2000. Wagon was selected to represent

as for all three games of the

2001 State of Origin series The 2001 State of Origin series was the 20th year that the State of Origin series, annual three-game series between the Queensland rugby league team, Queensland and New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales representative rugby league foo ...

. At the end of the season he played for the

at lock forward in their 2001 NRL grand final loss to the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...

. In 2005, Wagon made 15 appearances for Parramatta as the club won the minor premiership and made it all the way to the preliminary final before suffering a shock 29-0 defeat by North Queensland. Wagon subsequently played for Parramatta in their unsuccessful finals campaigns in 2006 and 2007. Wagon played one further year for Parramatta in 2008, making 17 appearances. In total, Wagon suffered 4 preliminary final defeats and a grand final loss at the club in a period where the Parramatta Eels fell short of a long awaited premiership.

France

He joined French rugby leagues

for the 2009 season where he played for the

. He finished playing in France at the beginning of April.

Return to Australia

He returned to Australia in 2009 with the Gundagai Tigers in the

Group 9 Group 9 may refer to: * Group 9 element *Group 9 Rugby League Group 9 is a rugby league competition based in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia, and surrounding areas. The competition is played in five grades, with these being Under 17s, U ...

rugby league competition before moving to the States.

United States

Wagon was one of the international players invited to the launch of the proposed NRLUS competition in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in July 2010. He also joined the

Aston Bulls The Aston Bulls were a rugby league football team based in Aston Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The team played in the American National Rugby League (AMNRL), the United States' oldest competition, from 1998 until 2013. They were kno ...

of the

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a consid ...

American National Rugby League The American National Rugby League (AMNRL) was a rugby league organization in the United States that operated from 1997 to 2014. The country's first domestic rugby league competition, it hosted an annual league from 1998 through 2013. Throughout it ...

(AMNRL), making him the highest profile player in the AMNRL. He arrived in May 2010 and began training with the club in preparation for their first match for the

Philadelphia Fight The Philadelphia Fight are a semi professional rugby league team based in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area. They currently compete in the USA Rugby League, having formerly competed in the now defunct American National Rugby Le ...

Career highlights

* ''First Grade Debut'': for

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

against

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...

, on 22 March 1997 (Round 3) * ''Origin Selection'': for Queensland Origin, 2001 * ''Test Selection'': for the

Kangaroo Tour Kangaroo Tour is the name given to Australian national rugby league team tours of Great Britain and France, tours to New Zealand and the one-off tour to Papua New Guinea (1991). The first Kangaroo Tour was in 1908. Traditionally, Kangaroo Tours to ...

of England in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, though he did not play a game on the three test tour. * ''2001 minor premiership winner'' : With Parramatta * ''2005 minor premiership winner'' : With Parramatta

Footnotes

References

External links

Parramatta Eels player profile

2001 Ashes profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wagon, Daniel 1976 births Living people Aston Bulls players Australian expatriate rugby league players Australian expatriate sportspeople in France Australian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Expatriate rugby league players in France Expatriate rugby league players in the United States Indigenous Australian rugby league players Limoux Grizzlies coaches Limoux Grizzlies players Parramatta Eels players Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Brisbane Rugby league second-rows St. George Dragons players