Jason Saab (born 8 October 2000) is an Australian professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

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 lea ...

who plays as a er for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

. Considered one of the best wingers in the NRL, he is known for his lightning quick pace and quick finishing. He previously played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL.

Background

Saab was born in

Newtown, New South Wales Newtown, a suburb of Inner West, Sydney's inner west, is located approximately four kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, straddling the Local government areas of New South Wales, local government areas of the City of Sy ...

, and is of

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

and

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

descent. Saab's step-father is Lebanese, hence his surname. Saab played his junior rugby league for the Merrylands Rams and for Parramatta City Titans. Saab attended Westfields Sports High School. and graduated in 2018. In 2018, Saab was picked for the Australian Schoolboys rugby league team and represented Australia in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Career

2019

Saab made his first grade debut in Round 19 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 ...

for the St. George Illawarra Dragons against South Sydney, starting on the wing and scoring two tries in their 20–16 loss in the last minute due to a Campbell Graham try at ANZ Stadium.

2020

In August 2020,

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

reported that Saab had sought an early release from his contract due to the traveling distance between

Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...

and his home in Western Sydney. However, St. George Illawarra refused this request unless the club would be compensated either by cash or player transfer. In September, there was speculation that Saab would be joining the

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League sea ...

as a trade for St. George junior Reuben Garrick. Saab made only four appearances for St. George in the 2020 NRL season as the club finished 13th on the table. On 26 November 2020, Saab was granted a release from his contract with St. George and shortly thereafter signed a three-year deal with Manly-Warringah.

2021

In round 1 of the 2021 NRL season, Saab made his debut for Manly-Warringah in the club's 46–4 loss against the

Sydney Roosters Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...

. In round 6 of the 2021 NRL season, he scored two tries in Manly's 36–0 victory over the Gold Coast. In round 9 of the 2021 NRL season, Saab scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in Manly's 38–32 victory over

New Zealand Warriors The 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 the Aucklan ...

. In round 10 of the 2021 NRL season, Saab scored another two tries for Manly-Warringah in a 50–6 victory over Brisbane at

Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), currently known as Suncorp Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Milton, Queensland, Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Nicknamed The Cauldron, it is a three-tiered rect ...

. In round 15, Saab scored two tries for Manly in a 56–24 victory over the Gold Coast. The following week, he scored a

in Manly's 66–0 victory over

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

. In round 20, Saab scored two tries for Manly in their 40–22 victory over rivals Cronulla in the battle of the beaches match. At the end of year club awards night, Jason Saab and Josh Schuster were announced as joint winners of the Ken Arthurson Rising Star Award for 2021 after their strong seasons for Manly.

2022

In round 18 of the

2022 NRL season The 2022 NRL season was 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 ...

, Saab scored two tries in a 42–12 victory over Newcastle. Saab was one of seven players involved in the Manly pride jersey player boycott. Saab made 16 appearances for Manly in the

scoring seven tries. Manly would finish the season in 11th place on the table.

2023

In round 6 of the

2023 NRL season The 2023 NRL season was the 116th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 26th season run by the National Rugby League. The season consisted of 27 competition rounds, the longest in league history, followed by a finals series ...

, Saab made his return to the Manly side in their 44–12 loss against Penrith with Saab scoring a second half try. In round 25, Saab scored a

in Manly's 29–22 loss against the New Zealand Warriors. In round 27, Saab scored two tries in Manly's 54–12 victory over the

Wooden Spoon A wooden spoon is a Kitchen utensil, utensil commonly used in food preparation. In addition to its culinary uses, wooden spoons also feature in folk art and culture. History The word ''spoon'' derives from an ancient word meaning a chip of woo ...

side Wests Tigers. Saab played 19 matches for Manly in the

and scored 14 tries as the club finished 12th on the table and missed the finals.

2024

Saab played for Manly in the opening game of the

2024 NRL season The 2024 NRL season was the 117th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 27th season run by the National Rugby League (NRL). The season consisted of 27 competition rounds, followed by a finals series contested by the top eight ...

against South Sydney at the Allegiant Stadium in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

as part of the NRL in Las Vegas opener for the 2024 season. He scored a long range intercept try before halftime, but near the end of the game suffered a hamstring injury that would ultimately see him miss the next 5 weeks. A caption shown on the television broadcast of the game said that Saab, long believed to be one of the quickest players in the NRL (if not the quickest), had a fastest recorded time of 10.67 for the 100 metre sprint. On 4 June 2024, Saab re-signed with Manly until the end of the 2029 season. In round 18 of the

, Saab scored a hat-trick in Manly's 21-20 golden point extra-time victory over North Queensland. Saab played 17 matches for Manly in the 2024 NRL season and scored 12 tries as they finished 7th on the table and qualified for the finals. Manly would be eliminated in the second week of the finals by the Sydney Roosters.

2025

In round 11 of the 2025 NRL season, Saab scored two tries for Manly in their 24-6 victory over North Queensland.

Statistics

References

External links

Manly Sea Eagles profileDragons profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saab, Jason 2000 births Living people Australian people of Nigerian descent Indigenous Australian rugby league players 21st-century Indigenous Australian people Australian rugby league players St. George Illawarra Dragons players Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league wingers People educated at Westfields Sports High School 21st-century Australian sportsmen