Ricky Thorby (born 2 October 1985) is a New Zealand 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 11 ...

footballer who last played 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 ...

. He previously played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons. His positions of choice were as a or as a

Prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

Background

Thorby was born in New Zealand.

Playing career

His junior club was the Foxton Rebels and he later played for the

Central Falcons The Manawatu rugby league team are a rugby league team that represents the Manawatu Rugby League in New Zealand Rugby League competitions. They have the nickname the Mustangs and between 2002 and 2007 competed in the Bartercard Cup as the Centr ...

in the Bartercard Cup. He also played for the Innisfail Leprechauns in the C.D.R.L. Thorby made his first grade debut for St George against Brisbane in round 12 2007. Thorby mainly played for

St George Illawarra 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 ...

's feeder club (the

Shellharbour Dragons The Shellharbour City Dragons are an Australian rugby league football club based in the Shellharbour, New South Wales. They currently are not competing in any competitions and formerly competed in the New South Wales Cup in 2009 and 2010 and ac ...

) as a

. After playing over 20 games for St George over four seasons, Thorby signed a two-year contract with the

in order to receive more game time. Thorby was named in North Queensland's round 2 and 6 sides in 2011 but was ruled out of both clashes due to injury, which happened to be an injury effected first season in the prop's first season with the

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 ...

club. Thorby was only available for the club for only half the season in 2011, playing well for feeder club Northern Pride after injuries plagued his season. In 2012 Thorby was a stand-out in North Queensland's pre-season and trials and was rewarded with an 18th man spot in the club's round 4 clash against the

Cronulla-Sutherland 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 leag ...

. Thorby made his first appearance for North Queensland's round 5 game 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 ...

, he replaced Co-Captain Matthew Scott and ran for an impressive 94 metres off the bench. In round 8 2012, Thorby was rewarded with player of the match award with ''The anzac teddy'' for his strong carries. In this game Thorby made 119 metres from just 10 runs. Thorby had been one of the most improved players in the

2012 NRL season The 2012 NRL season was the 105th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia, and the first run by the newly formed Australian Rugby League Commission. The main competition, called the 2012 NRL Telstra Premiership due to spon ...

and had been described a human bowling ball. In his side's round 10 away victory over Newcastle he suffered rib cartlidge damage during his first hit-up of the game, he bravely toughed the game out, playing on for 26 minutes after the injury occurred. Thorby came off contract with North Queensland at the end of the

but was resigned until the end of 2014. Thorby's final match in first grade was a 42-12 loss against Canberra in round 11 2014. In 2016 Thorby joined the Norths Devils A grade team for the TDRL season.

Personal life

Thorby is married to Kirrily Hardy and the pair have two young children together. After coming off contract with the NRL Thorby had plans to retire and join the Police force but those plans were halted by previous driving indiscretions.

References

External links

St. George Illawarra Dragons profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorby, Ricky 1985 births Living people New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league players North Queensland Cowboys players St. George Illawarra Dragons players Northern Pride RLFC players Manawatu rugby league team players Shellharbour City Dragons players Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Rugby league players from Palmerston North Townsville Blackhawks players