Ronan Michael (born 3 July 2000) is an Irish 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 for the York Knights in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

at international level. He previously played for the

Huddersfield Giants Huddersfield Giants are an English professional rugby league club from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, the birthplace of rugby league, who play in the Super League competition. They play their home games at the John Smiths Stadium which is sh ...

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 ...

, and spent time on loan from

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It is th ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

and the

Swinton Lions The Swinton Lions are a professional rugby league club based in Swinton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Championship. The club has won the Championship six times and three Challenge Cups. Before 1996, the club was known s ...

Background

Born in

Balbriggan Balbriggan (; , IPA: �bˠalʲəˈbʲɾʲɪɟiːnʲ is a coastal town in Fingal, in the northern part of County Dublin, Ireland, approximately 34 km from Dublin City. The 2016 census population was 21,722 for Balbriggan and its environs. ...

to a Canadian-Irish mother and a Caribbean father, Michael grew up playing

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

. He began playing rugby league in 2017 for

Longhorns RL Longhorn may refer to: Animals * English Longhorn, a traditional long-horned brown and white breed of cattle * Texas Longhorn, a breed of cattle * Highland cattle, a Scottish breed sometimes called Highland Longhorn * Longhorn beetle, a family o ...

and was selected to play for in 2018 and 2019.

Playing career

Huddersfield Giants

Michael signed an academy contract with the

for the 2019 season. Michael moved to Australia in January 2020 to play for 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 ...

in their

Jersey Flegg Cup The Jersey Flegg Cup is a junior rugby league competition played in New South Wales, contested among teams made up of players aged 21 or under. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL), and is named for Easter ...

team (under-20s). He remained contracted to Huddersfield for 2021. He did not play any competition matches for Canberra as the season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. He returned home in March 2020. Michael was named to make his

debut for the

against the

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Super League. Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Rugby Football League, Northern Rugby ...

in round 20 of the 2020 Super League season. He was the first Irish-born player to play in the Super League since Brian Carney in 2009.

Whitehaven (loan)

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

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 ...

on loan.

Swinton Lions (loan)

On 27 May 2021 it was reported that he had signed for

in the

on a short-term loan. After the initial short-term loan had ended, it was later reported on 22 July 2021 that he had returned to Swinton for the remainder of the 2021 season.

York RLFC

On 3 October 2022 it was reported that he had signed for York RLFC on a two-year deal after having spent the previous season on loan with the club.

References

External links

Euro Rugby League u19s profileIreland profile
2000 births Living people Irish people of Canadian descent Irish people of Antigua and Barbuda descent Ireland national rugby league team players Irish rugby league players Huddersfield Giants players Rugby league props Rugby league centres Rugby league players from County Dublin Swinton Lions players Whitehaven R.L.F.C. players York City Knights players {{Ireland-rugbyleague-bio-stub