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Jake Clifford

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Jake Clifford (born 2 January 1998) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a halfback and five-eighth for North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL.

Jake Clifford
Personal information
Born (1998-01-02) 2 January 1998 (age 26)
Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Height6 ft 0 in (1.84 m)
Weight14 st 13 lb (95 kg)
Playing information
PositionHalfback, Five-eighth
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2018–21 North Qld Cowboys 42 7 19 1 67
2021–22 Newcastle Knights 25 4 52 0 120
2023 Hull F.C. 26 5 54 0 128
2024– North Qld Cowboys 8 1 1 0 6
Total 101 17 126 1 321
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2018 Prime Minister's XIII 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]
As of 20 September 2024

He previously played for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL and Hull FC in the Betfred Super League.

Background

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Clifford was born in Cairns, Queensland, Australia and was raised in Tully, Queensland and is of Italian descent.[2]

He played his junior rugby league for the Tully Tigers, before being signed by the North Queensland Cowboys.[3][4]

Playing career

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Early career

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In 2013, Clifford played for the Northern Pride's Cyril Connell Cup side. A year later, he captained the side in their Grand Final victory over Townsville.[5] In 2015, he moved up to the Northern Pride's Mal Meninga Cup side before moving to Townsville in 2016, where he played for the Townsville Blackhawks' Mal Meninga Cup side. In 2017, he played for the North Queensland Cowboys NYC side and was named in the 2017 NYC Team of the Year. On 27 September, he was named the 2017 Dally M NYC Player of the Year at the Dally M awards.[6]

2018

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On 17 February, he played off the interchange in a pre-season loss to the Wests Tigers, scoring a try.[7]

Clifford started the 2018 NRL season playing for North Queensland's Queensland Cup feeder side, the Northern Pride. On 16 April, he re-signed with the North Queensland club until the end of the 2020 NRL season.[8][9] On 24 June, he was 18th man for the Queensland Residents side.[10] On 11 July, he started at halfback for the Queensland U20 side, scoring two tries and being named Man of the Match in Queensland's first ever win.[11]

In Round 19 of the 2018 NRL season, he made his NRL debut against St. George Illawarra.[12]

On 29 August, he was named Intrust Super Cup Halfback of the Year and Rookie of the Year at the QRL Gala Awards night.[13] On 13 September, he was named the Cowboys Rookie of the Year at the club's presentation ball.[14]

On 6 October, Clifford earned his first senior representative honours, starting at five-eighth in the Prime Minister's XIII's 34–16 win over Papua New Guinea.[15] A week later, on 13 October, Clifford captained the Junior Kangaroos to a 40–24 win over Junior Kiwis, being named Man of the Match.[16]

2019

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Clifford entered the 2019 pre-season in a battle with Te Maire Martin for the vacant halves spot left by the retirement of Johnathan Thurston. Despite scoring a hat-trick in a pre-season trial against the Gold Coast Titans, Clifford lost out to Martin and began the season playing for the Northern Pride.[17] He made his season debut in a Round 3 loss to the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, playing five games before being dropped back to the Pride.[18] Clifford returned to first grade in the Cowboys' Round 12 win over the Gold Coast Titans. In Round 13, he scored his first NRL points, kicking four goals in a 20–22 loss to the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.

In Round 17, he scored his first NRL try and kicked the game winning field goal in North Queensland's Round 17 win over the Sydney Roosters.[19] In the Cowboys' Round 22 loss to the Newcastle Knights, Clifford suffered an ankle injury and missed the final three games of the season.[20]

On 16 December, Clifford re-signed with North Queensland until the end of the 2021 NRL season.[21]

2020

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In February, Clifford was a member of the Cowboys' 2020 NRL Nines winning squad, scoring a try in their final win over the St George Illawarra Dragons.[22] He began the 2020 season playing for the Northern Pride.

In Round 3, he returned to first grade, playing 10 games at halfback before being dropped by interim head coach Josh Hannay after a Round 12 loss to the Canberra Raiders.[23][24] In Round 17, he was recalled to the side, scoring a try in North Queensland's win over the St George Illawarra Dragons.[25] Clifford finished the season as North Queensland's halfback, scoring a try in their Round 20 win over the Brisbane Broncos.[26]

In November, Clifford signed a two-year contract with the Newcastle Knights starting in 2022.[27]

2021

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On 29 May, after playing seven games with the North Queensland club, Clifford secured an early release to join Newcastle for the remainder of the 2021 NRL season.[28]

He made his club debut in round 13 for Newcastle in a 40-4 loss against Parramatta.[29]

2022

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Clifford made a total of 12 appearances for Newcastle in the 2022 NRL season scoring two tries as the club finished 14th on the table.[30]

On 27 October, Clifford signed a two-year deal to join English side Hull F.C. starting in 2023.[31]

2023

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Clifford made his club debut for Hull F.C. in round 1 of the 2023 Super League season against Castleford which ended in a 32-30 victory.[32] On 2 August, Clifford signed a one-year deal to return to one of his former clubs, North Queensland for the 2024 NRL season.[33] Clifford played 25 games for Hull F.C. for in the Super League XXVIII season as the club finished 10th on the table.[34]

2024

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Clifford was limited to only eight appearances with North Queensland in the 2024 NRL season which saw the club finish 5th on the table. He played in both the clubs finals matches as they were eliminated in the second week by Cronulla.[35]

Achievements and accolades

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Individual

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Team

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Statistics

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NRL

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[36]
*denotes season competing
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2018   North Queensland 6 0 0 — 0 0
2019 15 3 18 69.2 1 49
2020 14 3 1 50.0 0 14
2021   Newcastle Knights 13 2 33 74
2022 12 2 19 46
2023   Hull FC 25 5 54 128
2024   North Queensland 8 1 1 2
Career totals 101 17 126 67.9 1 317

References

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  1. ^ "Jake Clifford - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.
  2. ^ Walter, Brad (23 March 2022). "League of nations:Stars representing 40 countries". NRL.com.
  3. ^ "Official NRL profile of Jake Clifford for North Queensland Cowboys". North Queensland Cowboys. Archived from the original on 9 April 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Tully boy Jake Clifford set to be future Cowboys star". Cairns Post. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Connell Cup Final - Stingers v Pride". Queensland Rugby League. 5 May 2014.
  6. ^ "Clifford claims historic Holden Cup award". NewsComAu. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  7. ^ "JT returns but Tigers tame Cowboys in Cairns". National Rugby League. 17 February 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  8. ^ "Johnathan Thurston NRL successor: Cowboys half Jake Clifford has Ash Taylor qualities". Fox Sports. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  9. ^ "North Queensland Cowboys extend young star Jake Clifford's contract with eye on post-Johnathan Thurston era". National Rugby League. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  10. ^ "Clifford stands tall under weight of great expectations". Queensland Rugby League. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  11. ^ "Clifford leads the way in QLD breakthrough". Queensland Rugby League. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Final team list: Cowboys v Dragons". North Queensland Cowboys. 21 July 2018.
  13. ^ "Clifford named Q-Cup Rookie of the Year". North Queensland Cowboys. 29 August 2018.
  14. ^ "Our 2018 award winners!". North Queensland Cowboys. 13 September 2018.
  15. ^ "After pitch invasion, PM's XIII prevail". National Rugby League. 6 October 2018.
  16. ^ "Junior Roos defeat Junior Kiwis despite incredible try". National Rugby League. 13 October 2018.
  17. ^ "NRL 2019: North Queensland Cowboys Jake Clifford stars with hat-trick in trial win over Gold Coast Titans, pressure on Martin". 23 February 2019.
  18. ^ "NRL 2019, Round 8 | Cowboys star Josh McGuire rages after injury in win over Titans". NewsComAu. 3 May 2019.
  19. ^ "Couriermail.com.au | Subscribe to The Courier Mail for exclusive stories". www.couriermail.com.au.
  20. ^ "Updated team list: Round 23 v Penrith". North Queensland Cowboys. 22 August 2019.
  21. ^ "Clifford signs contract extension". North Queensland Cowboys. 16 December 2019.
  22. ^ "Cowboys out-gun Dragons in the west to take Nines crown". National Rugby League. 15 February 2020.
  23. ^ "NRL Teams Talking Points: Bennett's coy Bunnies switch, Titans shake up spine". Fox Sports Australia. 27 May 2020.
  24. ^ "Morgan returns, Norman dropped as coaches ring changes". NRL. 4 August 2020.
  25. ^ "Cowboys v Dragons: Clifford at halfback; Fuimaono returns". NRL. 6 September 2020.
  26. ^ "Brisbane get wooden spoon as Cowboys finish on a high". NRL. 24 September 2020.
  27. ^ "Jake Clifford joins Knights for '22 season". Newcastle Knights. 24 November 2020.
  28. ^ "Jake Clifford joins Knights for remainder of 2021 season". newcastleknights.com.au. 29 May 2021.
  29. ^ "Milestone men Gutho and Sivo shine; Over-keen Knights 'panic' on old boys day: 3 Big Hits". www.foxsports.com.au. 6 June 2021.
  30. ^ "NRL 2022: Newcastle Knights season review". www.sportingnews.com. 6 September 2022.
  31. ^ "Hull FC sign NRL halfback from Newcastle Knights to complete new-look spine". www.hulldailymail.co.uk.
  32. ^ "Super League: Hull FC 32-30 Castleford Tigers - Away side fall just short of remarkable fightback". BBC Sport.
  33. ^ "Cowboys lure playmaker home; Knights poach Souths forward, Panthers half: Transfer Centre". www.foxsports.com.au. 3 August 2023.
  34. ^ "Hull FC highs and lows as mid-season resurgence not enough to prevent drop-off". www.hulldailymail.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  35. ^ "The Mole: Cowboys show improvement in 2024 but worrying finals stat sparks thorny question". www.nine.com.au.
  36. ^ "Jake Clifford - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". Rugby League Project.
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