Ronan Michael
Ronan Michael (born 3 July 2000) is an Irish professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the York Knights in the Championship and Ireland at international level.
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Full name | Ronan Michael | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Balbriggan, Ireland | 3 July 2000|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.81 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 15 st 10 lb (100 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Position | Prop | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] As of 30 October 2022 |
He previously played for the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League, and spent time on loan from Huddersfield at Whitehaven, York and the Swinton Lions.
Background
Born in Balbriggan to a Canadian-Irish mother and a Caribbean father, Michael grew up playing rugby union.[2]
He began playing rugby league in 2017 for Longhorns RL and was selected to play for Ireland in 2018 and 2019.[3]
Playing career
Huddersfield Giants
Michael signed an academy contract with the Huddersfield Giants for the 2019 season.[4]
Michael moved to Australia in January 2020 to play for the Canberra Raiders in their Jersey Flegg Cup team (under-20s). He remained contracted to Huddersfield for 2021.[5] He did not play any competition matches for Canberra as the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] He returned home in March 2020.[7]
Michael was named to make his Super League debut for the Huddersfield Giants against the Wigan Warriors in round 20 of the 2020 Super League season.[8][9] He was the first Irish-born player to play in the Super League since Brian Carney in 2009.[7]
Whitehaven (loan)
On 29 April 2021 it was reported that he had signed for Whitehaven in the RFL Championship on loan.[10]
Swinton Lions (loan)
On 27 May 2021 it was reported that he had signed for Swinton Lions in the RFL Championship on a short-term loan.[11] After the initial short-term loan had ended, it was later reported on 22 July 2021 that he had returned to Swinton for the remainder of the 2021 season.
References
- "Ronan Michael - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project.
- Watterson, Johnny (7 May 2021). "Ronan Michael revelling in his sporting life after landing in Super League". Irish Times. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
- Darbyshire, Drew (5 October 2020). "Ireland international Ronan Michael on his wish to see a professional team in Dublin". Love Rugby League.
- "From the Leaving Cert to the Huddersfield Giants - Ronan Michael's story". Off The Ball Sports. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
- "Michael takes NRL step". giantsrl.com. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
- Walker, Gareth (17 March 2021). "The remarkable rugby league story of Ireland international Ronan Michael". Mirror. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
- Findlater, Stephen (24 November 2020). "From washing windows to a Super League debut: How Ronan Michael became a Giant". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
- Wood, Mike (5 November 2020). "Ronan Michael set to be first native-Irish Super League player in over a decade". Lad Bible.
- "Irish star Ronan Michael set to make Super League debut on Friday". Love Rugby League. 5 November 2020.
- "Super League star joins Whitehaven on-loan". Serious About RL. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- "GIANT RONAN JOINS THE LIONS". Swinton Lions RLFC. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
- "Ireland prop Ronan Michael makes permanent move to Championship". Love Rubgy League. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.