Toby Rudolf (born 29 January 1996) 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 le ...

who plays as a and 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 ...

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 ...

Background

Rudolf is of German descent. About sexuality he said: "Sexuality is very fluid. I’ve been out and kissed many gay men, kissed many straight women, and kissed many gay women"...I’m not a one-stop shop. Love is love, and I love to share it with everyone. That’s probably why I love going to all the gay bars in Sydney as well. I love dancing with my shirt off and getting down Universal on Oxford Street until 2 a.m.".

Playing career

2018

South Eastern Seagulls The South Eastern Seagulls were formed in 1957 and currently field male and female teams in all junior grades of the Sydney Combined Competition and South Sydney District Junior Rugby Football League. The club is based at Pioneers Park, Malabar. ...

junior, Rudolf began his playing career in South Sydney's Under 20s side before graduating to the club's then feeder side North Sydney. Rudolf played one season for Norths in the

Canterbury Cup NSW The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve ...

before signing with

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 ...

side

Redcliffe Dolphins The Redcliffe Dolphins are a semi-professional rugby league club based in Redcliffe, Queensland, Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1947, they were accepted into the Brisbane Rugby League premiership (rugby league competition), Brisba ...

for 2018. Rudolf was part of the Redcliffe side which won the 2018 premiership.

2019

After being noticed by Cronulla-Sutherland, Rudolf signed a two-year deal with the club starting in 2019. Rudolf spent the entirety of 2019 playing for Cronulla's feeder club side Newtown where he won the 2019

premiership and the 2019

NRL State Championship The NRL State Championship is a rugby league match contested by the premiers of the two elite second-tier competitions in Australia, the New South Wales Cup and the Queensland Cup. The match has been played as a curtain-raiser to the NRL Grand F ...

final.

2020

Rudolf made his NRL debut in round 1 of the

2020 NRL season The 2020 NRL season was the 113th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 14th consecutive year. ; Notes : : : Pre-season ...

for Cronulla-Sutherland against South Sydney 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 ...

. In round 18 of the

, Rudolf scored his first try in the top grade in Cronulla's 22-14 victory over 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 ...

Kogarah Oval Jubilee Stadium, also known as Kogarah Oval or by its sponsored name Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, is a multipurpose stadium in Carlton, New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. The stadium is mainly used for rugby league and the A-League, and is one ...

. The victory meant Cronulla qualified for the finals at New Zealand's expense.

2021

In round 20 of the

2021 NRL season The 2021 NRL season was the 114th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 15th consecutive year. Regular season Ladd ...

, Rudolf was sent to the sin bin for headbutting an opponent during Cronulla's 22-40 loss against rivals Manly in the "Battle of the Beaches" match. Rudolf played every game for Cronulla in the

which saw the club narrowly miss the finals by finishing 9th on the table.

2022

On 15 August, Rudolf was ruled out from playing for four weeks with a grade two medial ligament tear. Rudolf played a total of 22 games for Cronulla in the

2022 NRL season The 2022 NRL season is the 115th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 25th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 16th consecutive year. This became the second longest s ...

as the club finished second on the table. In the qualifying final, Rudolf scored a memorable individual try as he beat five

North Queensland North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its tropical northern part has been ...

players to the try line. North Queensland would go on to win the match 31-30. Rudolf played the following week in the elimination final which Cronulla lost 38-12 against South Sydney.

Statistics

NRL

: ''Statistics are correct as of the end of the 2022 season''

Controversy

In 2021, he came to national attention after being reprimanded for an inappropriate interview following his team Cronulla-Sutherland defeating rivals St. George. Rudolf spoke with Fox Sports following the victory and was asked how he would celebrate. Rudolf jokingly replied “1000 beers, then heading to Northies to try and pull something. Anything will do". NRL CEO Andrew Abdo labelled the comments “offensive and derogatory” before issuing Cronulla and Rudolf with an official warning.

References

External links

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudolf, Toby 1996 births Living people Australian rugby league players Australian people of German descent Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players North Sydney Bears NSW Cup players Newtown Jets NSW Cup players Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league props