Thomas Flegler (born 19 August 1999) 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 who plays as a and for the

Dolphins A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (t ...

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 ...

(NRL). He also represents

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 ...

at international level. Flegler previously played for 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 NRL, 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 ...

internationally, and

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 the

State of Origin series The State of Origin series is an annual best-of-three rugby league series between two Australian state representative sides, the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons. Referred to as “Australian sport's greatest rivalry”, the ...

Background

Flegler was born in

Innisfail, Queensland Innisfail (from Irish: Inis Fáil) is a regional town and locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. The town was originally called Geraldton until 1910. In the , the town of Innisfail had a population of 7,236 people, while ...

, Australia. He played his junior rugby league for the

Tully Tigers Tully is a town and locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It is adjacent to the Bruce Highway, approximately south of Cairns by road and north of Townsville. At the , the population was 2,390. Tully is perhaps best kn ...

, before being signed by the

Career

In early 2018, Queensland under-20s coach,

Justin Hodges Justin Hodges (born 25 May 1982) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative , Hodges started his career in the Natio ...

drew comparisons of Flegler to that of former Broncos forward,

Shane Webcke Shane Webcke (born 28 September 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, who spent his entire club career playing for the Brisbane Broncos. Webcke represented Queensland in the State of Origin 21 times and also captai ...

Brisbane Broncos (2019-2023)

Flegler made his NRL debut for Brisbane in round 1 of the

2019 NRL season The 2019 NRL season was the 112th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 22nd season run by the National Rugby League. The Sydney Roosters became the first team to win back-to-back Premierships since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992 ...

against the

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. ...

. In Round 2 against 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 ...

, he ran for the most running metres, running for 196 metres off twelve runs. On 29 June, he scored his first career try for the Broncos in a 26–12 loss to the Newcastle Knights. On 7 October 2019, Flegler was named at prop for the U23 Junior Australian side. On 21 October, Flegler won the Broncos' Rookie of the Year along with Patrick Carrigan. Flegler played thirteen games for Brisbane in 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 ...

. In 2021, he made his state of origin debut for

in game 3 of the series due to the suspension of forwards David Fifita and

Jai Arrow Jai Arrow (born 12 July 1995) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er, and for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos and Gold Coast Titans in the National Rugby Le ...

, where Queensland won 20-18. In round 19 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 ...

, Flegler was sent to the sin bin for a dangerous high tackle on Penrith's

Isaah Yeo Isaah Ferguson-Yeo (born 6 November 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and forward for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL and Australia at international level. At representative level he has played for ...

in Brisbane's 12-18 loss. In round 24, Flegler was sent to the sin bin during Brisbane's loss against Cronulla for a dangerous high tackle. On 31 August, Flegler was suspended by the NRL Judiciary for four matches in relation to the high tackle. In September, Flegler was involved in a fight with teammate

Jordan Riki Jordan Riki (born 18 January 2000) is a New Zealand rugby league footballer who plays as a forward for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League (NRL). Background Riki was born in Raglan, New Zealand, however, he grew up in Christchu ...

after a night out during Brisbane's

Mad Monday 'Mad Monday' is a term used in Australia to refer to the traditional end-of-season celebrations for professional (and sometimes amateur) players of various codes of football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degre ...

celebrations. It was reported that Riki received a cut on his face. 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 ...

, Flegler played a total of eighteen games for Brisbane. In round 27 of the

2023 NRL season The 2023 NRL season is the 116th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 26th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams For the 2023 season, the number of teams in the NRL has increased from sixteen to seventeen with the ...

, he captained the Brisbane Broncos against the Melbourne Storm at Suncorp Stadium and scored the first try of the match. In May 2023, Flegler was selected to play for

in Game I of the

2023 State of Origin series The 2023 State of Origin series is the 42nd annual best-of-three series between the Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams. Before this series, Queensland had won 23 times, NSW 16 times, with two series drawn. Venues Game I was held ...

against

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 31 May at

Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...

in South Australia. Flegler played a total of twenty-two games for Brisbane in the

. In Brisbane's 24-26 loss to Penrith in the

2023 NRL Grand Final The 2023 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2023 National Rugby League season in Australia. It was contested between the Penrith Panthers and the Brisbane Broncos on Sunday the 1st of October at Accor Stadi ...

, he scored Brisbane's opening try of the match in the 39th minute. In October, Flegler was selected to play for Australia in the 2023 Pacific Championships.

Dolphins (2024-)

In February 2023, Flegler signed a four-year contract to play for the

from the

2024 NRL season The 2024 NRL season will be the 117th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 27th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams in the league remained unchanged after the admission of the Dolphins (NRL), Do ...

onwards.

References

External links

Dolphins profileBroncos profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flegler, Thomas 1999 births Living people Australian rugby league players Brisbane Broncos players Dolphins (NRL) players Prime Minister's XIII players Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players Rugby league locks Rugby league props Rugby league players from Townsville