Tonie Carroll (born 17 February 1976) is a 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. An

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

international 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_ ...

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Oval ...

representative, he 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 ...

of 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 ...

and

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headi ...

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 ...

. Carroll retired from playing at the end of 2008, before making a brief mid-season comeback to the Broncos in 2009. Carroll was a utility player, appearing at , or .

Playing career

While attending

Beenleigh State High School , motto_translation = Reach Higher , principal = Matt O'Hanlon , type = Public, selective, co-educational, secondary, day school , city = Logan , state = Queensland , country = ...

, Carroll played for the Waterford Demons. Nicknamed 'Tunza', he started his Australian club career with Brisbane's

Easts Tigers The Brisbane Tigers are a rugby league club based at Langlands Park, in the suburb of Coorparoo in Brisbane, Australia. Since 1996, they have competed in the Queensland Cup, having competed in the Brisbane Rugby League from 1934 to 1997, where ...

team before being picked up by the Broncos.

Brisbane Broncos

Carroll made his first grade début for Brisbane 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 ...

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 ...

on 21 April 1996 and went on to win the 1996 Brisbane Broncos season's rookie of the year award. Despite his Kiwi background, Carroll was selected to represent

in the

Super League Tri-series The Super League Tri-series was an international rugby league football tournament contested in 1997 between Queensland, New South Wales, and New Zealand representative rugby league teams. It was run by the breakaway Super League organisation as an a ...

. He made his

début for the Maroons from the interchange bench in the 1998 series. Carroll became best known for his devastating defensive hits and scored a try in Brisbane's 1998 NRL Grand Final victory to claim his second premiership ring. Carroll played at centre for the Broncos in their 2000 NRL grand final win over the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

. He then created controversy when, after first representing Queensland then representing New Zealand in the 2000 World Cup (scoring a try in the final against Australia), he played for the Australian side, due to his having played

. When selected for the Kangaroos in 2004s Tri-Nations competition, Carroll became the first player in 90 years (since Bill Kelly in 1914) to play for both New Zealand and Australia. After winning a 3rd premiership with the Broncos at the end of the 2000 season, Carroll left Australia to play with the

Leeds Rhinos

Carroll finished his first season in the

as top try-scorer for Leeds with 23 tries in 28 games, including hat-tricks in consecutive games. This earned him a place in the centres in 2001's

Super League Dream Team The Super League Dream Team is an annually-selected rugby league All Star Team consisting of the players deemed to have been the best in their respective positions in the Super League competition. The team is selected by a panel of journalists and ...

. The following year was a frustrating one for Carroll as he struggled with injury, however he still managed 22 appearances, scoring eight tries. After two seasons at the Rhinos he returned to the Broncos. Tonie Carroll

Return to Brisbane

Carroll returned to the Broncos in 2003. Carroll was selected in the Australian team to go and compete in the end of season

2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations The second Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament (known as the Gillette Tri-Nations due to sponsorship) was contested between 16 October and 27 November of 2004. The format of the competition differed from the previous event in that the teams play ...

tournament. In the final against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

he played at lock forward in the Kangaroos' 44–4 victory. Carroll's leg was injured when playing at lock forward in the

2006 NRL Grand Final The 2006 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding match of the NRL's 2006 Telstra Premiership season. It was played between the first-placed Melbourne Storm and the third-placed Brisbane Broncos clubs on the night of Sunday, 1 ...

against Melbourne. Despite limping, he refused to leave the field and helped Brisbane to victory and another premiership. As 2006 NRL Premiers, the

travelled to England to face 2006

champions,

St Helens R.F.C. St Helens R.F.C. is a professional rugby league club in St Helens, Merseyside who compete in the Super League, the top tier for rugby league in Great Britain. They are the current Champions, having won the last 4 consecutive titles, and becom ...

in the

2007 World Club Challenge The 2007 Carnegie World Club Challenge was played between Super League XI champions, St. Helens and 2006 National Rugby League premiers, the Brisbane Broncos. It was a replay of the 2001 World Club Challenge, and both clubs' fifth WCC appearanc ...

. Carroll played at lock forward in the Broncos' 14–18 loss. During the

2007 NRL season The 2007 NRL season was the one hundredth season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the tenth run by the National Rugby League. Sixteen teams contested the NRL's 2007 Telstra Premiership, and with the inclusio ...

at the Broncos' 20-year anniversary celebration, the club announced a list of the 20 best players to play for them to date which included Carroll. In 2007, Broncos coach Wayne Bennett pulled a surprise selection by naming Carroll at left vacant due to the season ending knee injury to captain

Darren Lockyer Darren James Lockyer (born 24 March 1977) is an Australian television commentator and former professional rugby league footballer. Lockyer was an Australian international and Queensland State representative captain, who played his entire profes ...

, a position he had only played for 50 minutes in his entire career, opting for Carroll ahead of other options such as,

Joel Moon Joel Moon (born 20 May 1988) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and in the 2000s and 2010s. He last played for the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League. An Indigenous All-Stars and Exiles international ...

Karmichael Hunt Karmichael Neil Matthew Hunt (born 17 November 1986) is a former multi-code international rugby league footballer who last played for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL. Having played professional rugby league, rugby union and Australian rules ...

Shane Perry Shane Perry (born 9 November 1977) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s whose usual position was halfback. He played in the National Rugby League for the Western Suburbs Magpies, Canterbury-Bankst ...

and

Greg Eastwood Greg Eastwood (born 10 March 1987) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer. A New Zealand international forward, he played in the NRL for the Brisbane Broncos and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, and in the Super League for the Le ...

. Carroll retired at the end of

2008 NRL season The 2008 NRL season was the 101st season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia, and the eleventh run by the National Rugby League. For the second year, National Rugby League teams, sixteen teams competed for the 2008 Telstr ...

. However, he returned in July 2009 after the Broncos suffered a series of injuries, before retiring conclusively at the end of the season.

References

External links

*http://www.tunzafit.com TUF, Tunza Ultimate Fitness * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Tonie 1976 births Australian rugby league players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players Australia national rugby league team players Brisbane Broncos players Leeds Rhinos players Prime Minister's XIII players Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players Eastern Suburbs Tigers players Rugby league locks Rugby league centres Rugby league second-rows New Zealand emigrants to Australia Rugby league players from Christchurch Living people Rugby league players from Logan, Queensland