Sam Isemonger (born 4 May 1978 in

Sutherland, New South Wales Sutherland is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Su ...

) 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 1990s and 2000s. He 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- ...

in the Australian

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 ...

competition. He has also previously played for 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 league ...

, his position of choice was the second row. Isemonger is the son of the rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s for the

; David Isemonger.

Biography

Childhood and early career

Isemonger grew up in the

Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire is a local government area in the southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire comprises an area of and as at the had an estimated population of . Sutherland Shire is colloquially ...

and began playing rugby league at an early age for his local club side Engadine Dragons Rugby League Football Club. He spent all of his early years playing C grade for Engadine after an unsuccessful stint playing basketball with the Sutherland Pirates. He was eventually signed by the

while still a teenager.

1998

After signing with his local

side Isemonger eventually made his first grade debut on 10 July 1998 at the age of twenty against 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 ...

1999-2005

Over the next several years, Isemonger was both in and out of the first grade team with the Sharks for a variety of reasons; originally having to compete with representative players such as Chris McKenna,

Tawera Nikau Tawera Nuieia Nikau (born 1 January 1967) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A New Zealand international representative forward, he played club football at a number of different club ...

Les Davidson Les Davidson is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and represented at both the State and national levels. His posi ...

and Danny Lee meant a first team position was more often than not hard to come by. With several senior players moving on as the years passed Isemonger was able to get more game time but again hit a stumbling block with two

knee reconstruction Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL reconstruction) is a surgical tissue graft replacement of the anterior cruciate ligament, located in the knee, to restore its function after an injury. The torn ligament can either be removed from ...

s in 2001 and 2002.Lang punch drunk at welcome party
/ref> After eight seasons with Cronulla in which he made a total of seventy-four appearances, Isemonger was subsequently released from his contract by new coach

Stuart Raper Stuart may refer to: Names *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile * Stuart (automobile) Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory Northe ...

2006–present

After being released by Cronulla, Isemonger signed on to local rivals the

for the beginning of the 2006 NRL season. Isemonger retired in 2007 and took to coaching his junior club the Como Jannali Crocodiles under the watchful eye of close friend and lifelong mentor Kev McDermott. "I'm so glad to finally return to a life of danger with the Como Crocs." He said at the time.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Isemonger, Sam 1978 births Australian rugby league players Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players St. George Illawarra Dragons players Rugby league second-rows People from the Sutherland Shire Rugby league players from Sydney Living people