Griffin Neame (born 1 March 2001) is a New Zealand 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 as a for the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

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 ...

(NRL).

Background

Neame was born in

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coas ...

, New Zealand. He played his junior rugby league for Suburbs RL Club Greymouth and attended

Greymouth High School Greymouth High School is one of two post-primary schools in Greymouth, New Zealand. The other is John Paul II High School. It is the largest school on the West Coast of New Zealand with a roll of students. As of 2021 the principal is Samantha ...

before being signed by the

Playing career

Early career

In 2017, Neame represented the New Zealand Residents under-16 side against the NZ Māori under-17 team. In 2019, Neame played for the

Townsville Blackhawks The Townsville & Districts Blackhawks are an Australian semi-professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, Queensland. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. The club was admitted to the Que ...

in the

Mal Meninga Cup The Mal Meninga Cup, known as the Auswide Bank Mal Meninga Cup due to sponsorship, is a junior rugby league football competition based in Queensland, played between teams made up of players aged under 18. The competition, administered by the Q ...

and

Hastings Deering Colts The Hastings Deering Colts is a junior rugby league competition based in Queensland, contested among teams made up of players aged 21 or under. The competition is administered by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL), and is contested by fourteen t ...

competitions. In September 2019, he represented the

Junior Kiwis The Junior Kiwis side represents New Zealand in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. Since 2010, they are an under-20s side, with players selected from the NRL, Intrust Super ...

. On 7 October 2020, Neame joined North Queensland's NRL squad on a development contract for the 2021 season.

2021

Neame began the 2021 season playing for the Blackhawks in the

Queensland Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by fou ...

. On 12 May, Neame re-signed with the North Queensland club until the end of the 2023 season. In Round 22 of the 2021 NRL season, Neame made his NRL debut against the

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...

2022

Neame played 23 matches for North Queensland in the 2022 NRL season as the club finished third on the table and qualified for the finals. Neame played in both finals matches including their preliminary final loss to

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

2023

Neame made 17 appearances for North Queensland in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 11th on the table.

References

External links

North Queensland Cowboys profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neame, Griffin 2001 births Living people Junior Kiwis players New Zealand rugby league players North Queensland Cowboys players People educated at Greymouth High School Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Greymouth Rugby league props Townsville Blackhawks players