Dane Hans Ivan Peter Sorensen (born 4 October 1955)[2] is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. Sorensen represented New Zealand and his usual position was prop.

Dane Sorensen
Personal information
Full nameDane Hans Ivan Peter Sorensen
Born (1955-10-04) 4 October 1955 (age 69)
Auckland, New Zealand
Playing information
PositionProp
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
19??–76 Mt Wellington
1977–83 Cronulla-Sutherland 144 12 66 0 170
1984 Eastern Suburbs 11 0 0 0 0
1985–89 Cronulla-Sutherland 73 4 0 0 16
Total 228 16 66 0 186
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
19??–76 Auckland
New Zealand Māori
1972–85 New Zealand 19 0 13 0 26
Source: [1]

Background

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He's the brother of fellow Kiwi international, Kurt Sorensen, and the nephew of another pair of Kiwi brothers, Bill and Dave Sorensen.[3] He is of Tongan and Danish descent.[4]

Playing career

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Sorensen began his career playing for the Mt Wellington club in the Auckland Rugby League competition when aged just 17. He first made the New Zealand national rugby league team in 1972 and also represented New Zealand Māori. He joined the Cronulla-Sutherland club in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership in 1977 and, due to a release clause in his contract, later that year became the first New Zealander to be selected for the Kiwis while based overseas. Sorensen played for the Sharks from 1977 until 1989 except for 1984 when he spent the season with Eastern Suburbs. Sorensen played 217 games for the Sharks and has the 4th-highest number of appearances for the club. At the time of his retirement, Sorensen held the club record for most appearances.[5]

Later life

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Sorensen later served as the Sharks club director.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. ^ SORENSEN, Dane Hans Ivan Peter 1975, 1977, 1979, 1983 - - Kiwi #520 Archived 19 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine nzleague.co.nz
  3. ^ a b Coffey and Wood The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League ISBN 1-86971-090-8
  4. ^ 'Polys' playing starring role in NRL Sydney Morning Herald, 3 March 2009
  5. ^ David Middleton, ed. (2013). 2013 Official Rugby League Annual. Alexandria NSW: NewsLifeMedia for the National Rugby League (published 2015). p. 155.
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