Joel Edwards (born 17 July 1988) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Newcastle Thunder in the

Betfred League 1 RFL League One (for sponsorship reasons currently known as the Betfred League One) is a professional rugby league competition based in the United Kingdom. Part of the British rugby league pyramid, the competition features clubs from England an ...

competition. He plays as a and . He previously played for the Wests Tigers, Newcastle Knights and the Canberra Raiders 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 ...

, the Limoux Grizzlies in the Elite One Championship and York City Knights in the

RFL Championship The Championship, known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a professional rugby league competition. It is the Rugby Football League Championship Second Division, second-tier competition organised by the Rugby Football Lea ...

Background

Born in

Cessnock, New South Wales Cessnock is a city in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about by road west of Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle. It is the administrative centre of the City of Cessnock Local government in Australia, LGA and was named after a ...

, Edwards played his junior rugby league for the

Cessnock Goannas The Cessnock Goannas Rugby League Football Club is an Australian rugby league football club based in Cessnock, New South Wales Cessnock is a city in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about by road west of Newcastle, New Sou ...

in the Newcastle Rugby League, before being signed by the Newcastle Knights.

Playing career

Early career

In 2008, Edwards played for the Newcastle Knights' NYC team. In 2009, he spent a year back with the Cessnock Goannas before moving on to the Knights' New South Wales Cup team, Central Coast Centurions in 2010. JoelEdwards

2010

In Round 15 of the

2010 NRL season The 2010 NRL season was the 103rd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the thirteenth run by the National Rugby League. The season commenced on 12 March and ended with the Grand Final, played on 3 Octobe ...

, Edwards made his

debut for the Knights against the Parramatta Eels. On 9 September 2010, he was named on the interchange bench in the 2010 New South Wales Cup Team of the Year.

2011

After playing 4 games in 2010, Edwards was recalled to the team in Round 4 of the

2011 NRL season The 2011 NRL season was the 104th season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the fourteenth and last run by the National Rugby League's partnership committee of the Australian Rugby League and News Ltd. The NRL ...

and didn't miss a game for the rest of the year. On 13 September, he won the Once-A-Knight Old Boys Gladiator Award at the Knights' end of season awards night.

2012

On 2 August, it was confirmed by Knights CEO Matthew Gidley, that Edwards would quit the club at the end of the season after knocking back 3 separate offers. On 6 August, he signed a 3-year contract with the Canberra Raiders starting in 2013.

2013

In Round 1 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 ...

, Edwards made his Raiders debut against the Penrith Panthers. On 12 September, he won the Raiders' Coach's Award alongside

Brett White Brett White (born 8 April 1982) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Canberra Raiders and the Melbourne Storm in the NRL. Both an Ireland and Australian international, and New South Wales State of Origin represent ...

at the club's end of season awards night.

2014

On 16 April, Edwards re-signed with the Raiders on a 3-year contract.

2015

On 28 September, Edwards signed a 2-year contract with the Wests Tigers starting in 2016, after being released from the final 2 years of his Raiders contract.

2017

Edwards was named in the Tigers squad for the

2017 NRL Auckland Nines The 2017 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Downer NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the fourth NRL Auckland Nines competition. It was held on 4–5 February 2017 at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. Just like previous tournaments, it w ...

. On 6 September 2017, Edwards was one of the nine players that were released by The Wests Tigers at the end of the season following a poor year on the field for the club. He joined Limoux for their 2017–18 season.

References

External links

Wests Tigers profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Joel 1988 births Living people Australian rugby league players Canberra Raiders players Central Coast Centurions players Cessnock Goannas players Limoux Grizzlies players Mount Pritchard Mounties players Newcastle Knights players Newcastle Thunder players Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Cessnock, New South Wales Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Wests Tigers NSW Cup players Wests Tigers players York City Knights players