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Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1990-03-20)20 March 1990 (age 35) Wellington, New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 191 cm (6 ft 3 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 102 kg (16 st 1 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing, Centre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 24 July 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Blake Ferguson (born 20 March 1990) is an Australian former professionalrugby league footballer.
During his rugby league career he represented theIndigenous All Stars,Country NSW, andNew South Wales in theState of Origin series. He was a part of the NSW Blues team that won the2019 State of Origin series. He played for theNational Rugby League team theSydney Roosters that won the2018 NRL Grand Final.
He previously played for theCronulla-Sutherland Sharks,Canberra Raiders andParramatta Eels playing as acentre orfullback earlier in his career. Ferguson is also an amateur boxer.
Ferguson was born in Wellington, NSW on 20 March 1990.[3] Ferguson is a cousin ofAnthony Mundine.[4] Ferguson is ofAboriginal descent fromWiradjuri people, and is eligible for the Indigenous All Stars.[5][failed verification]
He played his junior rugby league atWellington Cowboys andEarlwood Saints.[6]
Ferguson was the2009 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks season's top try scorer. He was just beaten byJamal Idris as the rookie of the year at the2009 Dally M Awards.[7]
Following a clause in his contract that allowed him to leave the Sharks if coachRicky Stuart left, Ferguson also left the club at the end of 2010.[7]
Ferguson signed a 2-year deal to play with theCanberra Raiders starting from 2011.[8] He was the Raiders top try-scorer for theseason.
Following his debut Origin game in 2013 Ferguson's league career took a highly publicised downward spiral following an indecent assault charge.[9] Ferguson finished the2013 Canberra Raiders season as the club's top try scorer.
In May 2014, Ferguson signed with theSydney Roosters, who beat outSouth Sydney Rabbitohs for his services.[10] However, due to Ferguson's guilty verdict in his 2013 indecent assault charge, the NRL in late June 2014 rejected an application for him to join the Sydney Roosters for the remainder of the2014 NRL season, meaning he had to wait until the 2015 season to play for his new club.[11] As part of his rehabilitation, Ferguson completed a rugby leaguerefereeing course.[12] He was widely seen as the man to replaceSonny Bill Williams, who departed after the 2014 season.[13]
For the2015 NRL season Ferguson's healthy form led toWendell Sailor considering him "the second best buy of the season".[14] Following the departure ofRoger Tuivasa-Sheck from the Roosters, after 2015, Ferguson was anointed as the player to replace him atfullback for the2016 season.[15][16] However, after just one game at fullback, he was moved back to the centres.[17]
Ferguson was part of the Roosters team that qualified for the finals in 2017. In the qualifying final, Ferguson almost cost his side the game when he chose to bat the ball back into play when it was heading to the sideline enabling Brisbane wingerCorey Oates to score a try and put Brisbane in front with minutes to play. The Roosters went on to win the game in the dying minutes thanks to aLatrell Mitchell try. In the preliminary final against North Queensland, Ferguson scored a try off a knock on from North Queensland playerJustin O'Neill to make the score 16–12 with less than 15 minutes to play in the match and with Eastern Suburbs in control. In the next play from the restart, Ferguson lost the ball after being hit in a good tackle by O'Neill, who had lost the ball moments earlier. In the following play North Queensland scored courtesy ofKyle Feldt and Easts never recovered losing the match 29–16 in a huge upset.[18][19][20]
On 4 July 2018, Ferguson signed a three-year contract to join Parramatta beginning in 2019. Ferguson rejected a similar offer by Newcastle and wanted a new contract with Eastern Suburbs but the club was only prepared to offer him a one-year deal.[21]
In round 25 of the 2018 season, Ferguson scored his 100th try against his future club from 2019 onwards, theParramatta Eels. His final game for the Roosters was the2018 NRL Grand Final, in which it was revealed that he had played the second half with a broken leg.[22]
Ferguson made his debut for Parramatta against Penrith in Round 1 of the 2019 season. Ferguson scored his first and second try for Parramatta the following week against arch rivals Canterbury in a 36–16 victory. In Round 5 against Canberra, Ferguson suffered a badly broken nose and bruised ribs in a 19–0 loss. Ferguson was subsequently ruled out of the following week and missed the club's 51–6 victory overWests Tigers at the newWestern Sydney Stadium.[23][24]
On 25 July 2019, Ferguson was ruled out of action indefinitely as he had suffered an infection in his knee and required surgery. Ferguson was only expected to initially miss one match. It was reported that Ferguson also suffered a bad reaction to antibiotics. Parramatta coachBrad Arthur spoke to the media saying "His health is our No. 1 priority, We won't play him until he is 100 per cent fit".[25]
After spending 7 weeks out of action, Ferguson returned to the Parramatta side for their round 24 match against theBrisbane Broncos which Brisbane won 17–16 inGolden Point extra-time atSuncorp Stadium. Ferguson scored a second half try in the defeat.[26]
At the end of the 2019 regular season, Parramatta finished in 5th place on the table and qualified for the finals. In the elimination final against Brisbane, Ferguson scored a try as Parramatta won the match 58–0 at the newWestern Sydney Stadium. The victory was the biggest finals win in history, eclipsing Newtown's 55–7 win over St George in 1944. The match was also Parramatta's biggest win over Brisbane and Brisbane's worst ever loss since entering the competition in 1988.[27]
On 30 September, Ferguson was named at wing for the Australia PM XIII side.[citation needed]
In round 17 of the2020 NRL season, Ferguson scored his first try of the year as Parramatta defeated theNew Zealand Warriors 24–18 at theCentral Coast Stadium. It was Ferguson's first try in nearly 12 months with his previous try coming against Brisbane in the 2019 elimination final.[28]
In round 3 of the2021 NRL season, he scored two tries in a 28–4 victory over Cronulla-Sutherland.[29]The following week in round 4, he scored two tries for Parramatta in a 36–22 victory over theWests Tigers atStadium Australia.[30] Ferguson then experienced a mid-season form slump, which resulted in him being overlooked for selection in theNSW State of Origin side for Game One of the series, as well as being dropped from the Parramatta side for their Round 12 game against theNewcastle Knights.[31][32]
After spending seven weeks in theNSW Cup, Ferguson was recalled to the Parramatta side for their round 19 match against Canberra. Ferguson set up a second half try for Parramatta during the game which they lost 12–10.[33]
In round 24, Ferguson scored two tries for Parramatta in a 22–10 victory overMelbourne. The win also ended Melbourne's 19-game winning streak.[34]
In week one of the 2021 Finals Series, Ferguson scored two tries for Parramatta in their 28-20 elimination final victory overNewcastle.[35]Ferguson's final game for Parramatta came the following week as the club lost toPenrith 8–6 in the elimination final. On 22 September 2021, Ferguson was released by the Parramatta club.[36]
After being released by theNEC Green Rockets of Japanese Rugby due to pending cocaine possession charges,[37] Ferguson was reportedly set to be offered a contract by theNewcastle Knights for the2022 NRL season. However, it was later reported Newcastle playerDane Gagai, among others, had informed the club they would walk away from their deals if an offer was made to Ferguson.[38]
On 29 April 2022,RFL Championship sideLeigh announced that they had signed Ferguson on a one-year deal until the end of the season.[39]On 23 May 2022, Ferguson made his club debut for Leigh and scored four tries as they defeatedWorkington Town 58-6.[40]On 28 May 2022, Ferguson won his first trophy with Leigh, defeatingFeatherstone 30-16 in theRFL 1895 Cup final at theTottenham Hotspur Stadium.[41]On 28 August 2022, Ferguson scored two tries for Leigh in a 42-4 win overWidnes.[42]On 3 October 2022, Ferguson played for Leigh in theirMillion Pound Game victory overBatley which saw the club promoted back to theSuper League.[43]
On 3 October 2023, it was reported that he had joinedKurri Kurri Bulldogs.[44]On 26 April 2024 it was reported that his contract had been terminated due to gross misconduct.[45]The following day, Ferguson signed for a new club, the Wellington Cowboys.[46]
In 2010, he was called up to play for theIndigenous All-Stars, replacing the injuredJustin Hodges.[47] In that match he famously ran downIsrael Folau.[7] Ferguson was previously managed by his uncleSolomon Haumono and is now managed bySam Ayoub.[7][48]
In 2012, Ferguson had one of his best seasons on the field, representing theCountry New South Wales rugby league team.[49]
In 2013, Ferguson made his debut for theNew South Wales rugby league team in Game I of the2013 State of Origin series.[50] He had previously been approached byQueensland rugby league team coachMal Meninga to play for Queensland.[51]
In the 2018 NRL season, Ferguson was not selected for the 2018 State of Origin series with coach Brad Fittler opting to select wingersJosh Addo-Carr andTom Trbojevic instead. Fittler had publicly stated to the media before the team selection that NSW needed to change its "selfish culture". Despite Ferguson's strong 2018 form, the 28-year-old's non-selection was no great shock given the players infamous afternoon at a pub withJosh Dugan five days out from the 2017 series decider.[52][53]
After missing out on selection for New South Wales in 2018, Ferguson was selected for Game 2 of the2019 State of Origin series which New South Wales would go on to win 38–6 atOptus Stadium in Perth.[54]Ferguson was retained for Game 3 of the series which was played atANZ Stadium in the deciding match. With 1 minute left of normal time and with the scores at 20–20, Ferguson made a break down the right-hand side of the field and beat the covering tackle ofCorey Norman. Ferguson then passed toJames Tedesco who crossed over for the series-winning try with 20 seconds of play left.[55]
In 2012 he made theAustralia train-on squad.[49]
On 6 May 2016, Ferguson made his international debut forAustralia againstNew Zealand in the2016 Anzac Test,[56] scoring a try on debut.[57]
Ferguson made his professional boxing debut on 27 November 2013 in a fight against Luke Turner.[58]
Blake has been disciplined for several incidents of off-field behaviour. At a music festival in November 2012, he was escorted by security staff out of a VIP area after reports that he had been spitting on patrons. The Raiders refused to answer specific questions about the incident but stated that "We are aware of the incident and Blake has been disciplined internally."[59] He was also fined by the NRL after breaking their drinking policy.[60]
On 17 June 2013, Ferguson was apprehended and charged by police for an alleged Indecent Assault at the Sutherland Shire nightclub 2230.[61][62] On 6 September 2013 the Canberra Raiders sacked Ferguson.[63] On 11 December 2013, Ferguson was found guilty of June's indecent assault charge. Ferguson had pleaded not guilty arguing that he had mistaken the woman for 'another blonde woman' he had met earlier that evening at a different venue, 'Northies' but Ferguson was found guilty, placed on a good behaviour bond, and ordered to stay away from nightclubs and alcohol.[64] He was also suspended from football for more than 2 years.[65]
He converted to Islam in 2013, after taking hisshahada with his cousin, Mundine, who has been a Muslim for many years.[66] He also briefly gave up alcohol.[60]
In December 2017, it was revealed that Ferguson had admitted himself into a rehabilitation centre to overcome a gambling addiction.[67]
On 30 December 2021, Ferguson was arrested in Tokyo for assaulting a patron in a restaurant and for being in possession of cocaine. He was in Tokyo to start a new career withNEC Green Rockets.[68] He was subsequently sacked by the Green Rockets.[69]
