Michael Morgan (born 27 December 1991) 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 played 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 ...
.
Morgan played as a and 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 ...
, winning the
2015 NRL premiership and
2016 World Club Challenge with the club. He represented
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
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_ ...
and the
Prime Minister's XIII
Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PM's XIII, is the name of a representative rugby league team, comprising Australian players from National Rugby League clubs that did not qualify for the NRL Finals, or whose tea ...
, winning a
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
with Australia in
2017.
Background
Morgan was born and raised in
Townsville
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...
,
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_ ...
. He played his junior rugby league for the Townsville Brothers and attended
Ignatius Park College
Ignatius Park College is an Independent school, independent Catholic school, Catholic secondary school for boys, located in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. The school is affiliated with Edmund Rice Education Australia network that operates un ...
, where he represented 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
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players ...
side in 2009.
Playing career
Early career
In 2009, Morgan joined 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 ...
under-20s. Later that year, he represented the
Queensland under-18 team.
2010
In Round 9, Morgan made his
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 ...
debut at age 18 for the North Queensland Cowboys 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 ...
, filling in at halfback for the Cowboys' captain
Johnathan Thurston
Johnathan Dean Thurston (born 25 April 1983) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League (NRL). Thurston was an Australian international, Queensland State of Origin and Indigenous All ...
in the Cowboys 32–14 win at the
Sydney Football Stadium
The Sydney Football Stadium, commercially known as Allianz Stadium and previously Aussie Stadium, was a football stadium in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia. Built in 1988 next to the Sydney Cricket Ground, the stadium was Sydney's premier rect ...
. On 30 November, Morgan re-signed with the Cowboys for three years.
In round 14, against the
Canberra Raiders
The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...
, Morgan scored his first and second NRL tries in the Cowboys 16–8 win at
1300SMILES Stadium. Morgan finished his
debut year in the NRL with him playing in 4 matches and scoring 2 tries. On 30 November, Morgan re-signed with the Cowboys for three years to the end of the 2013 season.
2011
Morgan played in 4 matches for the Cowboys in
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
, once again filling in for
Johnathan Thurston
Johnathan Dean Thurston (born 25 April 1983) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League (NRL). Thurston was an Australian international, Queensland State of Origin and Indigenous All ...
after he was ruled out for 6 weeks of the season. He spent the majority of the season in the Cowboys' NYC side, playing halfback in the
Toyota Cup Grand Final against the
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 ...
, which was lost 31–30 in extra time.
2012
In round 10, Morgan returned to first grade for the Cowboys against 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 ...
. Morgan starred in the game by scoring a try and setting another up in the Cowboys 32–12 win at
Hunter Stadium
Newcastle International Sports Centre, known as McDonald Jones Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose sports stadium located in Newcastle, Australia. The ground is home to the Newcastle Knights (National Rugby League) and Newca ...
. From round 19 onward, Morgan cemented his halfback spot for the Cowboys after
Ray Thompson suffered a shoulder injury. In week 1 of the 2012 finals series, against the
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...
, Morgan became the first halfback in the history of the NRL/ARL/NSWRL to score a hat-trick of tries in a finals match in the Cowboys 33–16 win at 1300SMILES Stadium. Morgan played in 13 matches and scored 4 tries in the
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
.
2013
On 9 February 2013, Morgan captained the Cowboys to a 28–24 victory over the Brisbane Broncos in a trial match. He scored a try and set up another in the win. On 10 April, Morgan re-signed with the Cowboys for a further two years. Later that month, Morgan was given three weeks off from first grade duty after the death of best-friend and Cowboys teammate
Alex Elisala
Alex Elisala (17 August 1992 – 29 April 2013) was a Samoa international rugby league footballer who was contracted to the North Queensland Cowboys at the time of his death. He primarily played as a .
Early life
Elisala was born in Auckland, N ...
. Morgan spent most of the year playing with the
Mackay Cutters
The Mackay Cutters are a semi-professional rugby league football club based in Mackay, Queensland. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. The club was admitted to the Queensland Cup in 2007, alongside th ...
. They won 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 four ...
Grand Final against the
Easts Tigers
The Brisbane Tigers are a rugby league club based at Langlands Park, in the suburb of Coorparoo in Brisbane, Australia. Since 1996, they have competed in the Queensland Cup, having competed in the Brisbane Rugby League from 1934 to 1997, where ...
27–20, with Morgan dedicating a try to Elisala. Morgan only played 9 matches and scored 2 tries in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
. In September, Morgan admitted he had stood himself the NRL from being emotionally drained from the death of Elisala.
2014
In 2014, Morgan shifted to fullback for the Cowboys after new signing
Lachlan Coote
Lachlan Coote (born 6 April 1990) is a Scotland and Great Britain international rugby league footballer who plays as a for Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super League.
He played for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL, and was a member of the Nort ...
tore his
anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...
during the club's
Auckland Nines
The NRL Nines is a rugby league nines competition, normally held during the NRL preseason each year. It was initially held in Auckland, New Zealand, between 2014 and 2017 before going on hiatus. Returning in 2020, hosting duties moved to Perth ...
tournament. Due to his form at fullback, he was called into
Queensland's State of Origin
A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...
squad as 19th man for
Game III of the
2014 State of Origin series. Following an impressive season at fullback for the Cowboys, including two finals appearances, Morgan was selected on the interchange bench for the
Prime Minister's XIII
Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PM's XIII, is the name of a representative rugby league team, comprising Australian players from National Rugby League clubs that did not qualify for the NRL Finals, or whose tea ...
team which defeated
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
34–16 in
Kokopo
Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain Province in Papua New Guinea. It is administered under Kokopo-Vunamami Urban LLG. The capital was moved from Rabaul in 1994 when the volcanoes Tavurvur and Vulcan erupted. As a result, the population of ...
. Morgan spent time at hooker and lock during the game. He finished 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 ...
with him playing in all of the Cowboys 26 matches and scoring a career-high 10 tries.
At the end of 2014, Morgan was named the Cowboys members' player of the year and the most improved player.
2015
In January, Morgan was named in the
QAS Emerging Origin squad for the third year in a row. On 27 January 2015, Morgan was named in the Cowboys
2015 NRL Auckland Nines squad. After starting the first two rounds of the season at fullback, Morgan shifted to five-eighth in round 3 against the Brisbane Broncos in the Cowboys 44–22 loss. In round 10, against the Broncos, Morgan scored a hat-trick of tries in a man of the match performance in which the Cowboys won 31–20. Following the return of
Lachlan Coote
Lachlan Coote (born 6 April 1990) is a Scotland and Great Britain international rugby league footballer who plays as a for Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super League.
He played for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL, and was a member of the Nort ...
from injury, Michael Morgan shifted to five eighth. North Queensland's spine was instrumental in their success during the 2015 season, with
Lachlan Coote
Lachlan Coote (born 6 April 1990) is a Scotland and Great Britain international rugby league footballer who plays as a for Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super League.
He played for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL, and was a member of the Nort ...
,
Jonathan Thurston, Morgan, and
Jake Granville
Jake Granville (born 7 February 1989) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who primarily plays as a utility forward for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL). Earlier in his career, Granville primarily ...
being named NRL.com's #1 playmaking spine for 2015. After scoring five tries in two weeks, Morgan was called into the Queensland State of Origin team for game I of the
2015 State of Origin series, after
Daly Cherry-Evans
Daly Cherry-Evans (born 20 February 1989) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL and Australia at international level.
He captains Manly and won the 2011 NRL Grand ...
was ruled out with an elbow injury. Morgan came off the interchange bench in Queensland's 11–10 victory. In Game III of the series, Morgan scored a try with just his third touch of the football and set up two others in Queensland's 52–6 obliteration of
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
.
On 4 October 2015, Morgan was a member of the Cowboys'
Grand Final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
winning side, starting at five-eighth in the side's 17–16 victory over the
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...
. On the last play of the game, with the Cowboys down by four points, Morgan combined with
Johnathan Thurston
Johnathan Dean Thurston (born 25 April 1983) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League (NRL). Thurston was an Australian international, Queensland State of Origin and Indigenous All ...
in-setting up a try to right winger
Kyle Feldt
Kyle Feldt (born 9 February 1992) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL.
Feldt has played for the Prime Minister's XIII, and was a member of the Cowboys' 2015 NRL ...
when he ran from 20 out, drew three Broncos defenders and got away a one-handed flick pass to send the winger over for the match-tying try and sending the game into extra time. Morgan finished his barnstorming
2015 NRL season for Cowboys with him playing in 23 matches and scoring 15 tries.
2016
![Mick Morgan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Mick_Morgan.jpg)
In February, Morgan played in the Cowboys 2016 Auckland Nines squad. He was then a member of the Cowboys'
World Club Challenge
The World Club Challenge is an annual rugby league competition between the winners of the Australasian National Rugby League (NRL) and the European Super League, for the de facto club world championship of the sport. The first such match was pl ...
winning side, starting at five-eighth and scoring the first try of the match in the match against
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 ...
. After a great start to the season, on 6 May, Morgan was selected to make his international debut for
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
against
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, where he played off the interchange bench in the 16–0 win at
Hunter Stadium
Newcastle International Sports Centre, known as McDonald Jones Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose sports stadium located in Newcastle, Australia. The ground is home to the Newcastle Knights (National Rugby League) and Newca ...
. Morgan came off the bench for
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_ ...
during games I & II of the
2016 State of Origin series before being ruled out of game III. Morgan returned in round 20 against the
Canterbury Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilita ...
, putting in a man of the match performance.
On 16 September, Morgan played his 100th NRL game, scoring the match winning try against the
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...
in the club's 26–20 elimination semi-final victory.
On 4 October, Morgan was selected in Australia's
Four Nations squad. He scored his first test try in Australia's 54–12 over
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
at
KCOM Lightstream Stadium.
2017
Morgan started the season as usual, playing at Five-Eighth. With his halves partner
Johnathan Thurston
Johnathan Dean Thurston (born 25 April 1983) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League (NRL). Thurston was an Australian international, Queensland State of Origin and Indigenous All ...
having injury issues/problems throughout the majority of the season; he spent time featuring at halfback, taking-on an extra responsible role in-steering and directing the team around the field.
In Game 2 of the State of Origin Series, Morgan came off the bench to replace the injured Will Chambers at right-. He would set up the match-winning try to winger
Dane Gagai
Dane Gagai () (born 3 January 1991) is a professional rugby league footballer and boxer who plays as a and er for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL. He has played for Australia and the New Zealand Maori at international level.
He previously ...
, leading to
Johnathan Thurston
Johnathan Dean Thurston (born 25 April 1983) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League (NRL). Thurston was an Australian international, Queensland State of Origin and Indigenous All ...
to kick the winning goal, giving Queensland an 18–16 win to level the series.
Following a season-ending shoulder injury to Thurston, Morgan took over the halfback position for the remainder of the 2017 season.
Leading into the Origin decider (Game 3 of the 2017 State of Origin Series), he was the leading candidate to play at Five-Eighth (in replacing
Johnathan Thurston
Johnathan Dean Thurston (born 25 April 1983) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League (NRL). Thurston was an Australian international, Queensland State of Origin and Indigenous All ...
). Despite this, coach
Kevin Walters
Kevin David Walters (born 20 October 1967) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the Head Coach of the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL and a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a premiership-winning ...
selected
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...
player
Cameron Munster
Cameron Munster (born 13 September 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Melbourne Storm in the NRL and Australia at international level.
Munster has played for Queensland in the State of Origin ...
to play in that Five-Eighth role which resulted Morgan being selected at for the 3rd game of the State of Origin series. This was his first ever start in the position at First Grade level, and his first start in State of Origin. Playing at in the 3rd game (the decider), he produced a fine performance in QLD's 22–6 win over NSW at Suncorp Stadium.
With Thurston still injured and out of the action; Morgan continued-on with his fine consistency performance at Halfback, leading into the NRL play-offs. In week 1 of the Final Series, he guided the Cowboys to a tough narrow 15–14 win over the
Cronulla Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league ...
at Allianz Stadium, kicking a field goal in extra-time
. The following week, he then went-on playing a key role in the Cowboys' 24–16 win over the
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 ...
at ANZ Stadium. In the Grand Final qualifier match against the
Roosters
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
at Allianz Stadium (on 23 September), he produced an outstanding performance in the
Cowboys
A cowboy is a professional pastoralist or mounted livestock herder, usually from the Americas or Australia.
Cowboy(s) or The Cowboy(s) may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Cowboy'' (1958 film), starring Glenn Ford
* ''Cowboy'' (1966 film), ...
to a 29–16 win, guiding the team to the Grand Final.
After an end to a terrific 2017 season for Morgan in which he guided the Cowboys to an unlikely Grand Final appearance and won the Dally M Halfback of the Year award, Morgan was rewarded further being named in Australia's 24 man squad for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. Morgan would continue to comfortably fill in Johnathan Thurston's boots, going on to play in Thurston's regular Five-eighth position for Australia and playing the opening game of the tournament against England where Australia won 18–4. Continuing to do his job for the Australia Kangaroos, he earned a spot at Five-eight for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup final against England.
2018
The 2018 NRL season was a slow start for Morgan, missing the first two games of the season due to injury. After returning from injury he played at Five-Eighth and Fullback, making way for Johnathan Thurston to play Halfback for the Cowboys. He struggled to find the form that he had in 2017 and as a result both he and the Cowboys had a disappointing beginning to the season.
Come State Of Origin, there were doubts Morgan would be picked for the Maroons due to his current form, but was still picked to play off the bench against the NSW Blues in game I. Leading in to game I of State Of Origin, Maroons No.1 Billy Slater pulled out of the game because of a hamstring complaint, making way for Morgan to play Fullback. Morgan had a solid game, but still lost 22–12 to the Blues.
On returning to the Cowboys it was revealed that Morgan was carrying a groin issue which was restricting his movement and required surgery at the end of the season. Morgan's season would encounter a huge blow when he injured his bicep against the NZ Warriors, which would require surgery and end his season prematurely.
2019
On 8 March 2019, Morgan was named captain of the Cowboys, replacing
Matt Scott and the recently retired
Johnathan Thurston
Johnathan Dean Thurston (born 25 April 1983) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League (NRL). Thurston was an Australian international, Queensland State of Origin and Indigenous All ...
. In Round 10, Morgan played his 150th NRL game in the Cowboys' 17–10 win over the
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 June, he started at centre in two State of Origin games for Queensland. In the third game of the
series
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used in ...
, he was concussed after colliding with teammate
Josh McGuire
Joshua McGuire (born 2 March 1990) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Warrington Wolves in the Betfred Super League. He has played for Samoa and Australia at international level.
He previously played for t ...
. The concussion was Morgan's second in 13 days and saw him miss two NRL games. He returned in the Cowboys' Round 20 loss to the
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional Rugby league, 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 j ...
. In his first season as captain, Morgan played 20 games, as the Cowboys missed the finals for the second straight year.
2020
After playing the first two games of the season, Morgan underwent shoulder surgery during the NRL's 10-week shutdown, ruling him out for up to month ahead of the competition's return on 28 May. He returned from injury in the Cowboys' Round 13 loss to the
Gold Coast Titans
The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australia and New Zealand's national rugby league club competition. The ...
. In Round 14, he scored two tries in a 30–31 loss to the
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian 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 pla ...
. In Round 16, Morgan tore his calf in a loss to the
Cronulla Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league ...
, which ruled him out for the rest of the season.
2021
Morgan returned from his shoulder injury in Round 1 of the
2021 NRL season, a 24–0 loss to the
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrit ...
. Following the Cowboys' Round 2 loss to 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, Sydney, St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since NR ...
, Morgan was indefinitely ruled out due to soreness to his surgically repaired shoulder.
On 9 April, Morgan announced his immediate retirement from rugby league due to his injured shoulder.
Achievements and accolades
Individual
*
Dally M Halfback of the Year: 2017
*
North Queensland Cowboys Players' Player of the Year: 2017
*
North Queensland Cowboys Members' Player of the Year: 2014, 2017
*
North Queensland Cowboys Coach's Award: 2017
*
North Queensland Cowboys Most Improved: 2014
Statistics
NRL
: ''Statistics are correct to the end of the 2019 season''
International
State of Origin
Personal life
Morgan and his wife, Brianna, have a daughter named Penelope.
Morgan's great-grandfather,
Duncan McIvor
Duncan McIvor (11 November 1884 – 18 November 1930) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
McIvor played in 29 games during four seasons over six years for Collingwood in the VF ...
, played for
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_ ...
in 1915, 100 years before Morgan made his debut for Queensland.
References
External links
North Queensland Cowboys profileNRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Michael
1991 births
Living people
Australia national rugby league team players
Australian rugby league players
Mackay Cutters players
North Queensland Cowboys players
Prime Minister's XIII players
Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players
Rugby league centres
Rugby league five-eighths
Rugby league fullbacks
Rugby league halfbacks
Rugby league hookers
Rugby league players from Townsville