Jason Saab (born 8 October 2000) is an Australian 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 football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a er for the

Manly-Warringah 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 ...

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 ...

. He previously played for the

St. George Illawarra Dragons 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 ...

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 ...

Background

Saab was born in

Newtown, New South Wales Newtown, a suburb of Inner West, Sydney's inner west, is located approximately four kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, straddling the Local government areas of New South Wales, local government areas of the City of Sy ...

, and is of

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

and

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 ...

descent. Saab's step-father is Lebanese, hence his surname. Saab played his junior rugby league for the Merrylands Rams and for Parramatta City Titans. Saab attended

Westfields Sports High School , motto_translation = Courage and Valour , established = , location = 406A Hamilton Road, Fairfield West, Western Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , type = Government-funded co-educational comprehensive ...

. and graduated in 2018. In 2018, Saab was picked for the

Australian Schoolboys rugby league team The Australian Schoolboys rugby league team is the national rugby league football team for secondary school students in Australia. The team competes against counterparts in New Zealand, known as the Junior Kiwis, England, Wales and France amo ...

and represented Australia in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Career

2019

Saab made his first grade debut in Round 19 of the 2019 NRL season for the

against South Sydney, starting on the wing and scoring two tries in their 20–16 loss in the last minute due to Campbell Graham try at

ANZ Stadium ANZ may refer to: People * Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician Banks * ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia ** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand * ...

2020

In August 2020, Sporting News reported that Saab had sought an early release from his contract due to the traveling distance between

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wa ...

and his home in

Western Sydney Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

. However, St. George Illawarra refused this request unless the club would be compensated either by cash or player transfer. In September, there was speculation that Saab would be joining the

as a trade for St. George junior

Reuben Garrick Reuben Garrick (born 30 June 1997) is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays as a er and fullback for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League, NRL. He has played at representative level for the Prime Minister's XII ...

. Saab made only four appearances for St. George in the 2020 NRL season as the club finished 13th on the table. On 26 November 2020, Saab was granted a release from his contract with St. George and shortly thereafter signed a three-year deal with Manly-Warringah.

2021

In round 1 of the 2021 NRL season, Saab made his debut for Manly-Warringah in the club's 46-4 loss against the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

. In round 6 of the 2021 NRL season, he scored two tries in Manly's 36-0 victory over the Gold Coast. In round 9 of the 2021 NRL season, Saab scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in Manly's 38-32 victory over

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 ...

. In round 10 of the 2021 NRL season, Saab scored another two tries for Manly-Warringah in a 50-6 victory over Brisbane at

Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

. In round 15, Saab scored two tries for Manly in a 56-24 victory over the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

. The following week, he scored a

in Manly's 66-0 victory over

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

. In round 20, Saab scored two tries for Manly in their 40-22 victory over rivals Cronulla in the battle of the beaches match. At the end of year club awards night, Jason Saab and

Josh Schuster Josh Schuster (born 5 May 2001) is a international rugby league footballer who plays as a er or for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL. Background Schuster was born in Sydney, Australia to Australian parents of Samoan and German de ...

were announced as joint winners of the

Ken Arthurson Kenneth Richard "Arko" Arthurson AM (born 1 October 1929) is an Australian rugby league football identity. Affectionately known as "The Godfather of Manly", he played, coached and was later an administrator at the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles cl ...

Rising Star Award for 2021 after their strong seasons for Manly.

2022

In round 18 of the 2022 NRL season, Saab scored two tries in a 42-12 victory over

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. Saab was one of seven players involved in the

Manly pride jersey player boycott The Manly pride jersey player boycott took place in July 2022, after seven players for the Australian National Rugby League club Manly Warringah Sea Eagles announced they would refuse to participate in an upcoming match based upon the team's decisio ...

. Saab made 16 appearances for Manly in the 2022 NRL season scoring seven tries. Manly would finish the season in 11th place on the table.

References

External links

Manly Sea Eagles profileDragons profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saab, Jason 2000 births Living people Australian people of Nigerian descent Indigenous Australian rugby league players Australian rugby league players St. George Illawarra Dragons players Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league wingers People educated at Westfields Sports High School