Jy Hitchcox (born 18 August 1989) 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 who plays as a and for the Western Suburbs Red Devils in the

Country Rugby League The Country Rugby League of New South Wales (CRL), formed in 1934 and disbanded in 2019, was the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in areas of New South Wales outside the Sydney metropolitan area until it merged with NSW Rug ...

and the Illawarra Rugby League premiership. He previously played for the Wests Tigers 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 ...

, Featherstone Rovers in the

Kingstone Press Championship The Championship, known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a professional rugby league competition. It is the second-tier competition organised by the Rugby Football League, the governing body for the sport in England, a ...

and the

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 ...

( Heritage № 964) 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 ...

. Hitchcox spent time away from

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins the ...

at the Batley Bulldogs and Halifax in the Championship, and at

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

in League 1. He later joined the Bradford Bulls on a permanent deal in the second tier. Jy is the only player to score on debut in all tiers of professional Rugby League in both hemispheres.

Background

Hitchcox was born in Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia. He played his junior football for the Mullumbimby Giants before being signed by the Gold Coast Titans. As a youngster, Hitchcox played for the

Australian Schoolboys The Australian Schoolboys refer to junior teams that represent Australia in various sports. The name is mainly used in rugby league, rugby union and baseball. Other popular team sports in Australia such as cricket, basketball, association footbal ...

Under-18s team.

Playing career

Australia

In 2009, Hitchcox played for the Gold Coast Titans' NYC team. In 2010, Hitchcox joined the Melbourne Storm. After a stint with

Manly RUFC Manly Rugby Union Football Club is a rugby union club based in Manly, a suburb of Sydney. The club was formed in 1883 and competes in the New South Wales Rugby Union competitions, the Charter Hall Shute Shield. Manly, known as the Marlins, pl ...

in the

Shute Shield The Shute Shield is a semi-professional rugby union competition in Sydney, Australia. It is the premier club competition in New South Wales. The Shute Shield is awarded to the winning team from the Sydney premiership grand final held at the end ...

, Hitchcox joined the Wests Tigers in 2012. In Round 23 of the

2014 NRL season The 2014 NRL season was the 107th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 17th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand, for the Auckland Nines, replacing the Rugby Leagu ...

, Hitchcox made his

début for the Wests Tigers against the Sydney Roosters. He scored a try on debut.

England

On 19 December 2014, Hitchcox signed a two-year contract with the Featherstone Rovers in the

starting in 2015.

Castleford Tigers

In November 2015, Hitchcox signed a 1-year contract with

team

starting in 2016. Hitchcox scored 2 tries in his début for Castleford in a live televised game against Hull F.C. He played in the

2017 Super League Grand Final The 2017 Super League Grand Final was the 20th official Grand Final championship-deciding game of the Super League XXII. It was held at Old Trafford, Manchester on 7 October 2017, kick off 18.00. Leeds Rhinos became champions for a record 8th t ...

defeat by 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 ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

Leigh Centurions

On 29 Oct 2021 it was reported that he had signed for

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 ...

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 ...

References

External links

Castleford Tigers profileNRL profileSL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hitchcox, Jy 1989 births Living people Australian rugby league players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Australian expatriate sportspeople in France Balmain Ryde-Eastwood Tigers players Batley Bulldogs players Bradford Bulls players Castleford Tigers players Featherstone Rovers players Halifax R.L.F.C. players Leigh Leopards players Rochdale Hornets players Rugby league centres Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league wingers Rugby league players from Byron Bay Toulouse Olympique players Wests Tigers players Wests Tigers NSW Cup players