Michael Crocker
Encyclopedia
Michael Crocker is an Australian professional rugby league
footballer with the South Sydney Rabbitohs
of the NRL
. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative back row forward, he previously played for the Sydney Roosters
and the Melbourne Storm
clubs, winning the 2002 NRL Premiership with them.
. In doing so, he became the 1000th player to play for the Sydney eastern suburbs club.
During his career with the Roosters, he made three consecutive Grand Final appearances between 2002 and 2004 which included winning the premiership in 2002.
Having played previously in Queensland for the Redcliffe Dolphins
, Crocker made his State of Origin
debut for the Maroons whilst playing with the Sydney Roosters in 2003. He became the 136th player to represent Queensland in State of Origin and he scored a try on debut in the second match of the 2003 State of Origin series. At the end of that season Crocker played in the 2003 NRL grand final
which the Roosters lost to the Penrith Pnthers. After tht he was selected to go on the 2003 Kangaroo tour
, becoming the 714th player to represent his country in the green and gold.
In the 2004 season's Grand Final against the Bulldogs, Crocker was the last player to touch the ball in the game. Trailing 16–13 and with less than seconds left on the game, Crocker appeared to make a break down the right-hand side of the field about 30 metres out from the Bulldogs line but lost control of the ball when Andrew Ryan made contact with his arms, dislodging the ball.
In 2005, Crocker was involved in an alcohol-fueled disturbance outside The Palace Hotel in Sydney. He was arrested and pleaded guilty to affray
and fined $10,000 by the Sydney Roosters.
.
In the 2006 preliminary final match against the St George Illawarra Dragons
Crocker injured his knee, forcing him to miss the Grand Final match against the Brisbane Broncos
, which Melbourne lost.
He was part of the victorious Melbourne Storm 2007 NRL Grand Final
team against Manly-Warringah. His contribution to the win, was highlighted when he knocked out Manly fullback Brett Stewart
with a ball and all tackle. Chasing a high bomb kicked by Greg Inglis, Crocker pursued the ball to make a tackle on Stewart alongside fellow Storm player Billy Slater. The play resulted in Brett Stewart leaving the field and being sidelined for the rest of the match. Several minutes later, Crocker went on and scored a decisive try.
Crocker's performance in the Grand Final earned him a position in the 2007 New Zealand v Australia Centenary Test, his first international selection since 2004. The Australian team went on to win this test by the biggest margin in history.
His representative career continued throughout 2008. Crocker played in all 3 games for Queensland in State of Origin
, with Queensland winning the series. He also played for Australia in the Centenary Test
winning 28–12 against New Zealand.
Crocker was a member of the Melbourne team which was defeated by the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
in the 2008 NRL Grand Final.
At the end of the season, Crocker was named in the Australia team for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup
, and was due to play but had to withdraw through a rib injury sustained in the grand final.
In an interview with media regarding players for the 2008 World Cup team Australian national coach Ricky Stuart
declared English-bound forward Crocker had played his last game for Australia due to his pending defection to English club Hull. However, in August 2008, Crocker was named in the preliminary 46-man Kangaroos squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup
despite earlier comments by Kangaroos' coach, Ricky Stuart
, that he would not select players leaving Australia to play in England in 2009.
Crocker was contracted to Melbourne Storm for the 2009 NRL season but activated a clause in 2008 that allowed him to accept a lucrative contract with English club Hull.
side Hull for the 2009 season on a three year contract. Hull confirmed they had signed Crocker on a three-year contract from the 2009 season with the club "delighted" with the signing, although a visa
application to work in the United Kingdom was rejected, in part due to a 2005 conviction for affray.
The British High Commission rejected Crocker's appeal to be allowed to work in the UK in May, 2009, but did not give an official reason. Crocker signed a contract with the South Sydney Rabbitohs for three and a half years, making an immediate start with the club. Crocker's debut came in the round 10 NRL match against the West Tigers on 18 May 2009 played at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
, in 2008. The wedding party included his two best friends and fellow league players Clint Newton
and Billy Slater
. Crocker studies real estate and property development in his spare time and enjoys reading the Harry Potter
novels, surfing, and riding horses.
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 with 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 NRL
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...
. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative back row forward, he previously played for 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...
and 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....
clubs, winning the 2002 NRL Premiership with them.
Sydney Roosters
Crocker made his NRL debut in 2001 for the Sydney RoostersSydney 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...
. In doing so, he became the 1000th player to play for the Sydney eastern suburbs club.
During his career with the Roosters, he made three consecutive Grand Final appearances between 2002 and 2004 which included winning the premiership in 2002.
Having played previously in Queensland for the Redcliffe Dolphins
Redcliffe Dolphins
The Redcliffe Dolphins are a rugby league team from the city of Redcliffe in Queensland, Australia. The Redcliffe Dolphins were founded in 1947, accepted into the Brisbane Rugby League premiership in 1960, and since 1996 have played in the Queensland Cup....
, Crocker made his State of Origin
Rugby League State of Origin
State of Origin is an annual best of three series of rugby league football matches contested by the Maroons and the Blues, who represent the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales respectively...
debut for the Maroons whilst playing with the Sydney Roosters in 2003. He became the 136th player to represent Queensland in State of Origin and he scored a try on debut in the second match of the 2003 State of Origin series. At the end of that season Crocker played in the 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...
which the Roosters lost to the Penrith Pnthers. After tht he was selected to go on the 2003 Kangaroo tour
2003 Kangaroo Tour
The 2003 Kangaroo Tour was a six-match tour by the Australia national rugby league team of France, Wales and England. The last three matches were all Tests against Great Britain...
, becoming the 714th player to represent his country in the green and gold.
In the 2004 season's Grand Final against the Bulldogs, Crocker was the last player to touch the ball in the game. Trailing 16–13 and with less than seconds left on the game, Crocker appeared to make a break down the right-hand side of the field about 30 metres out from the Bulldogs line but lost control of the ball when Andrew Ryan made contact with his arms, dislodging the ball.
In 2005, Crocker was involved in an alcohol-fueled disturbance outside The Palace Hotel in Sydney. He was arrested and pleaded guilty to affray
Affray
In many legal jurisdictions related to English common law, affray is a public order offence consisting of the fighting of two or more persons in a public place to the terror of ordinary people...
and fined $10,000 by the Sydney Roosters.
Melbourne Storm
After signing with the Melbourne Storm in 2006 he became the Storm's lucky charm; in the three years he was with Melbourne, he played in only three losing games, including the Storm's loss to Manly in the 2008 NRL Grand Final2008 NRL Grand Final
The 2008 NRL Grand Final was a rugby league football match played between the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Melbourne Storm, held on Sunday, 5 October at ANZ Stadium in Sydney to determine the 2008 Telstra Premiership....
.
In the 2006 preliminary final match against the St George Illawarra Dragons
St 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...
Crocker injured his knee, forcing him to miss the Grand Final match against the 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...
, which Melbourne lost.
He was part of the victorious Melbourne Storm 2007 NRL Grand Final
2007 NRL grand final
The 2007 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive, premiership-deciding match of the 2007 NRL season. Played between the first-placed Melbourne Storm and second-placed Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at Telstra Stadium on September 30, in front of 81,392 spectators. It was the fourth NRL Grand Final played...
team against Manly-Warringah. His contribution to the win, was highlighted when he knocked out Manly fullback Brett Stewart
Brett Stewart
Brett Stewart is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League. He is an Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative fullback known for pace and his prolific try-scoring...
with a ball and all tackle. Chasing a high bomb kicked by Greg Inglis, Crocker pursued the ball to make a tackle on Stewart alongside fellow Storm player Billy Slater. The play resulted in Brett Stewart leaving the field and being sidelined for the rest of the match. Several minutes later, Crocker went on and scored a decisive try.
Crocker's performance in the Grand Final earned him a position in the 2007 New Zealand v Australia Centenary Test, his first international selection since 2004. The Australian team went on to win this test by the biggest margin in history.
His representative career continued throughout 2008. Crocker played in all 3 games for Queensland in State of Origin
Rugby League State of Origin
State of Origin is an annual best of three series of rugby league football matches contested by the Maroons and the Blues, who represent the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales respectively...
, with Queensland winning the series. He also played for Australia in the Centenary Test
Centenary Test
Centenary Test refers to two matches of Test cricket played between the English cricket team and the Australian cricket team, the first in 1977 and the second in 1980. These matches were played to mark the 100th anniversaries of the first Test cricket matches played in Australia and in England ...
winning 28–12 against New Zealand.
Crocker was a member of the Melbourne team which was defeated by the Manly-Warringah 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...
in the 2008 NRL Grand Final.
At the end of the season, Crocker was named in the Australia team for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup
2008 Rugby League World Cup
The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since the inauguration of the tournament in 1954, and the first since the 2000 event...
, and was due to play but had to withdraw through a rib injury sustained in the grand final.
In an interview with media regarding players for the 2008 World Cup team Australian national coach Ricky Stuart
Ricky Stuart
Ricky Stuart is an Australian rugby league football coach and former player of the 1980s and 90s. He is currently the head coach of the New South Wales State of Origin team, having replaced Craig Bellamy following a fifth consecutive failure in the 2010 series...
declared English-bound forward Crocker had played his last game for Australia due to his pending defection to English club Hull. However, in August 2008, Crocker was named in the preliminary 46-man Kangaroos squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup
2008 Rugby League World Cup
The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since the inauguration of the tournament in 1954, and the first since the 2000 event...
despite earlier comments by Kangaroos' coach, Ricky Stuart
Ricky Stuart
Ricky Stuart is an Australian rugby league football coach and former player of the 1980s and 90s. He is currently the head coach of the New South Wales State of Origin team, having replaced Craig Bellamy following a fifth consecutive failure in the 2010 series...
, that he would not select players leaving Australia to play in England in 2009.
Crocker was contracted to Melbourne Storm for the 2009 NRL season but activated a clause in 2008 that allowed him to accept a lucrative contract with English club Hull.
South Sydney Rabbitohs
Crocker planned to join European Super LeagueSuper League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
side Hull for the 2009 season on a three year contract. Hull confirmed they had signed Crocker on a three-year contract from the 2009 season with the club "delighted" with the signing, although a visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
application to work in the United Kingdom was rejected, in part due to a 2005 conviction for affray.
The British High Commission rejected Crocker's appeal to be allowed to work in the UK in May, 2009, but did not give an official reason. Crocker signed a contract with the South Sydney Rabbitohs for three and a half years, making an immediate start with the club. Crocker's debut came in the round 10 NRL match against the West Tigers on 18 May 2009 played at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Judiciary record
Notorious for his tough playing style combined with high and sometimes dangerous tackles, Crocker has missed a number of games through suspension. Since 2001, Crocker has faced ten judiciary charges, and been suspended for a total of 21 weeks.Off the field
Crocker married Sally Carne, the cousin of rugby league footballer Willie CarneWillie Carne
William Carne is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played for the Brisbane Broncos from 1990 to 1996, as well as representing both Queensland and Australia...
, in 2008. The wedding party included his two best friends and fellow league players Clint Newton
Clint Newton
Clint Newton is an American born professional rugby league footballer who plays for Hull Kingston Rovers in Super League. He previously played for Newcastle Knights and Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League competition...
and Billy Slater
Billy Slater
Billy Slater is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League . An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative fullback, he has played his whole NRL career to date at Melbourne...
. Crocker studies real estate and property development in his spare time and enjoys reading the Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
novels, surfing, and riding horses.
External links
- State of Origin Official website Rugby League Player Stats
- Melbourne Storm Profile Melbourne Storm – Official Website
- National Rugby League Profile National Rugby League Home
- Michael Crocker Rugby League Tables & Statistics
- State of Origin / Queensland Players Rugby League Tables & Statistics