Theerapol Ritson (born 7 January 1996) is a Thai professional rugby league footballer who plays as a wing for St Helens in the Super League having previously played Workington Town, Newcastle Thunder and Barrow Raiders. Ritson has also appeared for Swinton Lions in the RFL Championship as Swinton and St Helens have a dual-registration agreement.
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Theerapol Ritson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 7 January 1996 Khon Kaen, Thailand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] As of 17 November 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
editRitson was born in Thailand, but was raised in Maryport, Cumbria, England.
Playing career
editWorkington Town
editHis playing career started at Workington Town where he made 39 appearances between 2014 and 2017 scoring 12 tries.[2]
In 2016 he was the club's player of the year and was selected for the Thailand national team.[3][4] An international debut was missed as the game against Malta was cancelled due to the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.[5]
Newcastle Thunder (loan)
editAt the start of the 2018 season Ritson moved to Newcastle Thunder on loan where he made 22 appearances scoring 18 tries.[2]
Barrow Raiders
edit2019 saw a move to his home town club, Barrow Raiders, where he became a prolific try scorer over the next four seasons, scoring 70 tries in just 73 appearances.[2] In 2022 he scored 33 tries in 31 games becoming the Championship leading try scorer for the season.[6]
Cumbria
editAt the end of the 2022 season Ritson made his representative debut as he was selected to play for Cumbria in a World Cup warm-up match against Jamaica. Cumbria won 28–2 with Ritson scoring one of the Cumbrian's tries.[7]
St Helens
editIn November 2022, Super League side, St Helens, signed Ritson on a one-year loan deal.[8] Ritson's debut for St Helens was in the warm-up match for the 2023 World Club Challenge against St. George Illawarra Dragons where he also scored his first try for St Helens in a 30–12 victory.[9] His Super League debut came in St Helens 2023 opening fixture against Castleford Tigers where he scored his first Super League try in St Helens 24–6 win.[10] On 18 October 2023 it was reported that he had made his initial loan deal switch to St Helens permanent signing a two-year deal.[11]
References
edit- ^ "Player Summary: Tee Ritson". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
- ^ a b c "St Helens swoop for sought-after Championship star Tee Ritson". LoveRugbyLeague. 8 November 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ "Young Tee's the talk of the Town". Whitehaven News. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ "Workington Town winger Theerapol Ritson earns first international call-up for Thailand". News and Star. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ "Malta tour of Thailand cancelled". Asia Pacific Rugby League. 17 October 2016. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ Walker, Callum (8 November 2022). "Barrow Raiders star Tee Ritson makes Super League move". TotalRL.com. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ "Jamaica suffered defeat in Cumbria in World Cup warm-up". LoveRugbyLeague. 8 October 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ Pattison, Cam (8 November 2022). "Tee Ritson reveals why he chose St Helens and the St Helens legend he looked up to". Rugby League News. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ Walker, Callum (11 February 2023). "St Helens overcome St George Illawarra Dragons in entertaining prelude to World Club Challenge". TotalRL.com. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ "Flying wing Tee Ritson is grabbing his Saints chance with both hands". St Helens Star. 1 June 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ "Tee Ritson: St Helens turn winger's loan switch from Barrow into permanent two-year deal". BBC Sport. 18 October 2023.