Ben Ross
Encyclopedia
Ben Ross is an Australian professional rugby league
footballer for the South Sydney Rabbitohs
of the National Rugby League
(NRL). A Queensland State of Origin
representative forward, he has previously played club football for St. George Illawarra Dragons, Penrith Panthers
(with whom he won the 2003 NRL Premiership) and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
in a match against the Melbourne Storm
.
Signing with Penrith in 2003, Ross helped to kick the season off to a blistering start after becoming involved in a brawl with Brisbane Broncos
captain Gorden Tallis
. Ross was on the receiving end of a series of upper-cut punches thrown by Tallis when Brisbane met Penrith in the first round of the year. Both players were sent off for ten minutes and no further action was taken by the judiciary. The Australian Football League
(AFL) CEO, Wayne Jackson, used the incident to criticise the rival code which led to cross-border media exchanges. NRL CEO, David Gallop, ordered a policy change which would enable players to be charged for on-field fights.
Ross was a member of the Panthers' 2003 NRL grand final
-winning team, playing from the interchange bench in their 18–6 win over the Sydney Roosters
. Following his successful season at Penrith, Ross was selected to represent Queensland as an interchange for all six games of the 2004 and 2005 State of Origin series.
Although signed with Penrith until the end of 2007, Penrith announced they would have to release Ross due to salary-cap concerns. Ross joined the Cronulla Sharks in 2006 but had little game time that year due to injury. In round 8, playing against his previous club, Penrith, Ross damaged his left knee tackling former flat-mate, Joel Clinton
, in the first few minutes of the match. He was able to participate in the majority of the 2007 season but was side-lined for the remainder of the season.
In 2008 Ross was knocked out in the Sharks' season opener against the Sea Eagles
but miracuously recovered to play in the team's round two encounter against the Storm
in Melbourne
. Ross in that match was sent off late in the second half for his late charge on Storm halfback Cooper Cronk
which subsequently earned him a seven-match suspension.
After suffering neck injury playing for Cronulla in the opening round of the 2009 NRL season Ross was sidelined for the remainder of the season. Vowing to return to the playing field, he was thrown a lifeline by the South Sydney Rabbitohs
who gave him a contract. After undergoing surgery and rehabilitation, almost two years later Ross made his return to the plying field for the Rabbitohs in the 2010 NRL season
.
calendar that was produced in the style of the Dieux du Stade
calendars to raise money for the Koori
Kids foundation.
In 2006, Ross again posed in the nude for the Naked Rugby League 2007-08 charity calendar, with its sales to benefit the National Breast Cancer
Foundation of Australia.
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
footballer for the South Sydney Rabbitohs
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
of the National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
(NRL). A Queensland State of Origin
State of Origin
State of Origin is the name used in Australia for one existing sporting event which involves domestic representative teams. The term, when used in isolation, usually refers to rugby league football, and occassionally Australian Football matches, in which players are selected for the Australian...
representative forward, he has previously played club football for St. George Illawarra Dragons, Penrith Panthers
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan...
(with whom he won the 2003 NRL Premiership) and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
Playing career
Ben Ross played junior football for the Nambour Crushers. In 2002, Ross made his NRL debut for the St George Illawarra DragonsSt George Illawarra Dragons
The St George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing the St. George and Illawarra regions. They have competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 as a joint venture between Sydney's historic St. George Dragons club and 1982 expansion club, the...
in a match against the Melbourne Storm
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....
.
Signing with Penrith in 2003, Ross helped to kick the season off to a blistering start after becoming involved in a brawl with Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...
captain Gorden Tallis
Gorden Tallis
Gorden James Tallis is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played from 1992 to 2004. He captained Australia and Queensland as well as the Brisbane Broncos club, with whom he won three premierships and one Clive Churchill Medal...
. Ross was on the receiving end of a series of upper-cut punches thrown by Tallis when Brisbane met Penrith in the first round of the year. Both players were sent off for ten minutes and no further action was taken by the judiciary. The Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(AFL) CEO, Wayne Jackson, used the incident to criticise the rival code which led to cross-border media exchanges. NRL CEO, David Gallop, ordered a policy change which would enable players to be charged for on-field fights.
Ross was a member of the Panthers' 2003 NRL grand final
2003 NRL grand final
The 2003 NRL grand final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding match of the 2003 NRL season. In what was a contest of Sydney's east versus west, defending premiers and match favourites, the Sydney Roosters played against minor premiers and underdogs, the Penrith Panthers...
-winning team, playing from the interchange bench in their 18–6 win over the Sydney Roosters
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
. Following his successful season at Penrith, Ross was selected to represent Queensland as an interchange for all six games of the 2004 and 2005 State of Origin series.
Although signed with Penrith until the end of 2007, Penrith announced they would have to release Ross due to salary-cap concerns. Ross joined the Cronulla Sharks in 2006 but had little game time that year due to injury. In round 8, playing against his previous club, Penrith, Ross damaged his left knee tackling former flat-mate, Joel Clinton
Joel Clinton
Joel Clinton is an Australian professional rugby league footballer with Hull Kingston Rovers of the European Super League and most previously the Brisbane Broncos of the National Rugby League...
, in the first few minutes of the match. He was able to participate in the majority of the 2007 season but was side-lined for the remainder of the season.
In 2008 Ross was knocked out in the Sharks' season opener against the Sea Eagles
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
but miracuously recovered to play in the team's round two encounter against the Storm
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. Ross in that match was sent off late in the second half for his late charge on Storm halfback Cooper Cronk
Cooper Cronk
Cooper Patrick Cronk is an Australian professional rugby league footballer currently playing for the Melbourne Storm of the NRL...
which subsequently earned him a seven-match suspension.
After suffering neck injury playing for Cronulla in the opening round of the 2009 NRL season Ross was sidelined for the remainder of the season. Vowing to return to the playing field, he was thrown a lifeline by the South Sydney Rabbitohs
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
who gave him a contract. After undergoing surgery and rehabilitation, almost two years later Ross made his return to the plying field for the Rabbitohs in the 2010 NRL season
2010 NRL season
The 2010 NRL season was the 103rd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the thirteenth run by the National Rugby League. The season commenced on 12 March and ended with the Grand Final, played on 3 October at ANZ Stadium...
.
Off-field
Ross was crowned the Sexiest Man in League in 2005 following a nation-wide phone poll. Later that year he was one of twelve of the Hottest Players in the NRL that posed for the League Of Their Own 2006League Of Their Own 2006
League Of Their Own 2006 is a black-and-white nude calendar featuring 12 of the Australian rugby league players from the National Rugby League competition...
calendar that was produced in the style of the Dieux du Stade
Dieux du Stade
Dieux du Stade is the title of two books and several calendars and DVDs first published in 2001, featuring nude and semi-nude photographs of members of Stade Français, a Paris-based domestic French rugby team...
calendars to raise money for the Koori
Koori
The Koori are the indigenous Australians that traditionally occupied modern day New South Wales and Victoria....
Kids foundation.
In 2006, Ross again posed in the nude for the Naked Rugby League 2007-08 charity calendar, with its sales to benefit the National Breast Cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
Foundation of Australia.
Career highlights
- First Grade Debut: 2002 - Round 6, St. George Illawarra vs Melbourne at Olympic ParkOlympic Park, MelbourneThe Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct is a series of sports venues and stadia, located in Melbourne, Victoria, in Australia. The precinct is situated around 3 km east of the Melbourne city centre, between the suburbs of East Melbourne and Richmond, and close to the north-eastern bank of...
, 20 April - Premierships: 2003 - Penrith Panthers defeated Sydney Roosters
- Representative Selection: 2004 - Queensland State of Origin