Ryley Jacks (born 2 June 1992) is a Canada international rugby league footballer who last played as a halfback, five-eighth for Brisbane Tigers in the Queensland Cup.

Ryley Jacks
Personal information
Born (1992-06-02) 2 June 1992 (age 32)
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia[1]
Height184 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight92 kg (14 st 7 lb)
Playing information
PositionFive-eighth, Halfback, Hooker
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2017–18 Melbourne Storm 25 6 0 0 24
2019 Gold Coast Titans 13 4 0 0 16
2020–21 Melbourne Storm 10 1 0 0 4
2022 Featherstone Rovers 24 19 0 0 76
2023 Brisbane Tigers 23 3 0 2 4
Total 95 33 0 2 124
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015 Canada 2 4 0 0 16
Source: [2]
As of 18 July 2022

Jacks previously played for the Gold Coast Titans and the Melbourne Storm in the NRL, and Featherstone Rovers in the RFL Championship.

Early life

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Jacks was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He is of Canadian descent. His parents Terry and Donna both captained Australia in Touch Football, and Terry played A grade for Brothers Old Boys Rugby Club in the Queensland Rugby Union A grade competition.[citation needed]

Ryley was educated at St Laurence's College, South Brisbane where he was named Sportsman of the Year in 2009.[3]

Playing career

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Early career

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Jacks played 49 games for the Sydney Roosters NRL Under-20s team in 2011 and 2012. In 2013, he played for the Newtown Jets, the Roosters' feeder team, in the New South Wales Cup.[1] After starting the 2014 season with the Easts Tigers in the Queensland Cup,[1] Jacks signed with the Gold Coast Titans in March to play for their feeder team, the Burleigh Bears, also in the Queensland Cup.[4] Eligible via his Toronto-born grandfather, Jacks was selected to represent Canada in their 2017 World Cup qualifying campaign in December 2015 alongside his brother Rhys.[5] He scored one try in their match against Jamaica, and three tries against the United States.

In 2016, Jacks played for the Sunshine Coast Falcons, a feeder team of the Melbourne Storm, in the Queensland Cup.[6] With 19 tries for the season, he was awarded the James Ackerman Medal as the Falcons' player of the year.[7][8] Jacks has played over 140 games in both the NSW/QLD Cup competitions.

Melbourne Storm: 2016–2018

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In September 2016, Jacks signed a one-year deal with Melbourne for the 2017 NRL season.[3][9] In February 2017, he was a member of the Storm's 18-man squad for the 2017 NRL Auckland Nines.[10]

Jacks made his NRL debut in round 1 of the 2017 season, against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs on 3 March.[11] [12] In his 12 matches for Melbourne, he was described statistically as the best defensive five-eighth in the NRL.[13] Jacks was 18th man in the 2017 Grand Final win over the North Queensland Cowboys.

In June 2017, Jacks extended his contract with the Storm until the end of 2018.[14] He was on the extended bench for the 2018 Grand Final loss to the Sydney Roosters.

Gold Coast Titans: 2019

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For the 2019 NRL season, Jacks signed on with the Gold Coast Titans for two seasons. Jacks made a total of 13 appearances for the Gold Coast in the 2019 NRL season as the club endured a horror year on and off the field. During the halfway mark of the season, head coach Garth Brennan was sacked by the club after a string of poor results.

The Gold Coast managed to win only four games for the entire season and finished last claiming the wooden spoon.

Melbourne Storm: 2020–2021

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Jacks left the Gold Coast at the end of the 2019 season to return to Melbourne on a one-year deal, he was then resigned until the end of the 2021 season as a back up half to Cameron Munster and Jahrome Hughes.

Jacks was on the extended bench for the Storm's 2020 NRL Grand Final win over the Penrith Panthers.[15][16]

Jacks made only one appearance for Melbourne in the 2021 NRL season. On 6 October 2021, he was released by the club.[17]

Featherstone Rovers: 2022

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Jacks was signed by RFL Championship team Featherstone Rovers for the 2022 season, after originally signing to return to the Brisbane Tigers.[18] On 28 May 2022, Jacks played for Featherstone in their 2022 RFL 1895 Cup final loss against Leigh.[19]

Following Featherstone's failed push for promotion to Super League, Jacks was released and returned to the Brisbane Tigers,[20] where he was appointed captain for the 2023 Queensland Cup season.[21] Jacks then went onto led the Tigers in their 22-18 win over Burleigh in the 2023 Queensland Cup grand final. [22]


References

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  1. ^ a b c Badel, Peter (27 February 2014). "Former Roosters playmaker Ryley Jacks is on Souths radar as a replacement for Luke Keary". news.com.au. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  2. ^ "Ryley Jacks - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project.
  3. ^ a b Nolan, Alex (23 September 2016). "Coast halfback set to join NRL powerhouse in 2017". Northern Star. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  4. ^ Badel, Peter (25 March 2014). "Ryley Jacks believes he is NRL-ready and can help ease Gold Coast's injury woes". Courier-Mail. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  5. ^ Cormack, Michael (29 November 2015). "Souths Logan's Rhys Jacks to debut with brother Ryley for Canadian rugby league side". Courier Mail. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  6. ^ "High hopes for halfback to lead Falcons to finals". Sunshine Coast Daily. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  7. ^ Taylor, Steele (7 October 2016). "Jacks crowned player of the year at Sunshine Coast Falcons". Sunshine Coast Daily. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  8. ^ "Jacks stars at Falcons awards". QRL.com.au. 13 October 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  9. ^ "Meet Canadian international who will succeed Cronk". Rugby League Week. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  10. ^ "Storm announce 2017 Auckland Nines squad". melbournestorm.com.au. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  11. ^ Badel, Peter (2 March 2017). "Brisbane carpenter Ryley Jacks to debut for Melbourne Storm against Canterbury Bulldogs". Courier Mail. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  12. ^ "Jacks named for debut". melbournestorm.com.au. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  13. ^ Webeck, Tony (23 September 2017). "Jacks exhibiting Cronk-like control over Falcons". NRL.com. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  14. ^ "Jacks re-signs with Storm". melbournestorm.com.au. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  15. ^ "The Titans are full of 'hot air'. Their latest blunder proves it". Adelaide Now.
  16. ^ "Gold Coast Titans sack coach Garth Brennan". The Guardian. 14 July 2019.
  17. ^ "Dragons confirm Suli deal as Manly land Bronco and re-sign pair: NRL Transfer Centre". www.foxsports.com.au. 6 October 2021.
  18. ^ "Ryley Jacks: Featherstone sign ex-Melbourne half-back along with Adam Cuthbertson and Ben Mathiou". BBC Sport. BBC. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  19. ^ "Featherstone Rovers: 1895 Cup final defeat to Leigh Centurions gives Brian McDermott's side signal of their progress". www.yorkshirepost.co.uk.
  20. ^ Walker, Callum (15 November 2022). "Ex-Featherstone Rovers star Ryley Jacks signs for new club following failed Super League promotion push". Total Rugby League. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  21. ^ Arnold, Rikki-Lee (27 February 2023). "Brisbane Tigers: Cup gains and losses". qrl.com.au. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  22. ^ "Tigers captain Jacks: 'It just felt all year like this was meant to be'". 17 September 2023.
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