Karl Lawton

Karl Lawton (born 29 November 1995) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker and second-row forward for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League (NRL).

Karl Lawton
Personal information
Born (1995-11-29) 29 November 1995
Murwillumbah, New South Wales, Australia
Height185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight94 kg (14 st 11 lb)
Playing information
PositionHooker, Second-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2016–17 Gold Coast Titans 12 2 0 0 8
2018–20 New Zealand Warriors 33 6 0 0 24
2021– Manly Sea Eagles 35 5 0 0 20
Total 80 13 0 0 52
Source: [1]
As of 24 June 2023

He previously played for the Gold Coast Titans and the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL.

Background

Lawton was born in Murwillumbah, New South Wales, Australia. He is the younger brother of former Titans player Kayne Lawton.[2]

Lawton played his junior rugby league for the Bilambil Jets, Tweed Coast Raiders and Burleigh Bears, before being signed by the Gold Coast Titans.

Playing career

Early career

In 2014 and 2015, Lawton played for the Gold Coast Titans' NYC team.[3] On 5 May 2015, he re-signed with the Titans on a 2-year contract to the end of 2017.[4] On 8 July 2015, he played for the Queensland under-20s team against the New South Wales under-20s team.[5]

2016

In 2016, Lawton graduated to the Titans' Queensland Cup team, Tweed Heads Seagulls.[6] In Round 17 of the 2016 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for the Titans against the New Zealand Warriors.[7][8] Joining his brother Kayne Lawton as a first-grade player, they became the first set of brothers to play for the Titans at NRL level.[9] His debut was cut short however, as he suffered a severe leg injury seven minutes into the second half.[10][11]

In September 2016, Lawton was arrested and charged with assault and destruction of property over an alleged family dispute. The charges were later dropped and Lawton was cleared.[12]

2017

Playing 11 games for the club in 2017, Lawton geared up for one of his better years of Rugby League, scoring his first career try in the Gold Coast Titans Round 2 loss to the Newcastle Knights at McDonald Jones Stadium Newcastle and his second a month later in his sides other loss to the Canberra Raiders at home. Lawton finished his 2017 campaign with 2 tries to his name and 11 first grade games for the club.

2018

On 1 March, Lawton was given an immediate release from the final year of his contract with the Titans to take up a two-year deal with the New Zealand Warriors, exactly one week before the 2018 Telstra Premiership season commenced. Lawton debuted for the Warriors in Round 9 against the Tigers, scoring two tries,[13] and played 6 games in all for the team this season, scoring 3 tries.

2019

Lawton's first game for the Warriors in the new season was on 11 May 2019, in round 9, when he came on the field from the bench for an "explosive" 20 minutes,[14] helping the Warriors to a 26-18 comeback win against the Dragons. Picked for every game from then, on 26 June it was announced that he had signed a two-year contract extension with the Warriors, taking him up to the end of the 2021 season.[14]

2020

Lawton played 18 games for New Zealand in the 2020 NRL season as the club missed out on the finals. On 21 December, Lawton suffered an Achilles injury at training which meant he would miss most of the 2021 NRL season.[15]

2021

On 14 March, Manly-Warringah signed Lawton on a two-year deal.[16]

Lawton made his club debut for Manly-Warringah against Parramatta in round 11 of the 2021 NRL season. He scored a try and was sent to the sin bin during Manly's 28–6 victory.[17] Lawton played 16 games for Manly in the 2021 NRL season including the club's preliminary final loss against South Sydney.[18]

2022

In round 8 of the 2022 NRL season, Lawton was sent off for a dangerous lifting tackle in Manly's 40–22 loss against South Sydney. Lawton was later suspended for four matches over the incident.[19] On 7 June, Lawton was ruled out for rest of the 2022 NRL season with an ACL injury.[20]

2023

Lawton was limited to only ten games for Manly in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 12th on the table and missed the finals.[21]

Statistics
Year Team Games Tries Pts
2016 Gold Coast Titans 1
2017 11 2 8
2018 New Zealand Warriors 6 3 12
2019 9 1 4
2020 18 2 8
2021 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 16 3 12
2022 9 2 8
2023 10
Totals 80 12 48

Stats correct as of round 24 2023[22]

References
  1. "Karl Lawton - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  2. Wenzel, Murray (1 March 2018). "Titans' Lawton signs Warriors NRL deal". Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  3. "L". Nyc Database. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  4. NRL. "Lawton another local to re-sign". Titans. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  5. "Queensland Under 20s squad". QRL.com.au. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  6. NRL. "Intrust Super Cup round 6 teams". QRL. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  7. "Updated team lists: Warriors v Titans". NRL.com. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  8. NRL. "We talk to debutant Karl Lawton". Titans. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  9. "Lawton to make history". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  10. Dan Elsom and wires. "NRL Titans v Warriors: Karl Lawton suffers horrific leg injury in debut". News.com.au. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  11. Cadigan, Neil. "Depleted Titans beaten after leading". Titans. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  12. "The 66 scandals in four years that have rocked the NRL". Fox Sports.
  13. "Warriors sign Titans utility Karl Lawton". 1 March 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  14. "NRL: Hooker Karl Lawton renews deal with Warriors through to 2021". stuff. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  15. "Warriors to lose hooker Karl Lawton for most of the NRL season after Achilles injury". www.stuff.co.nz.
  16. "Karl Lawton leaves Warriors for Manly, allowing club to bring in another top hooker". stuff.co.nz.
  17. "Right-edge review after Blake badly exposed by Manly". www.nrl.com.
  18. "GLORY, GLORY: Souths march into the GF as Wayne masterminds Manly mauling". www.foxsports.com.au.
  19. "Karl Lawton faces lengthy ban after being cited". www.sportingnews.com.
  20. "Injury Update: Karl Lawton". www.seaeagles.com.au. 7 June 2022.
  21. "The $800k call Seibold must make as Turbo hits NRL crossroads: Sea Eagles Brutal Review". www.foxsports.com.au.
  22. https://www.nrl.com/players/nrl-premiership/sea-eagles/karl-lawton/
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