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Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1995-11-29)29 November 1995 (age 29) Murwillumbah,New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 181 cm (5 ft 11 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 94 kg (14 st 11 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Hooker, Lock, Second-row | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:[1] As of 30 August 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Kayne Lawton (brother) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Karl Lawton (born 29 November 1995) is an Australian professionalrugby league footballer who plays as ahooker andsecond-row forward for theNorth Queensland Cowboys in theNRL.
He previously played for theGold Coast Titans and theNew Zealand Warriors in the NRL.
Lawton was born inMurwillumbah, New South Wales,Australia. He is the younger brother of former Titans playerKayne Lawton.[2]
Lawton played his junior rugby league for theBilambil Jets,Tweed Coast Raiders andBurleigh Bears, before being signed by theGold Coast Titans.
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 theQueensland under-20s team against theNew South Wales under-20s team.[5]
In 2016, Lawton graduated to the Titans'Queensland Cup team,Tweed Heads Seagulls.[6] In Round 17 of the2016 NRL season, he made hisNRL debut for the Titans against theNew Zealand Warriors.[7][8] Joining his brotherKayne 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]
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 theGold Coast Titans Round 2 loss to theNewcastle Knights atMcDonald Jones Stadium Newcastle and his second a month later in his sides other loss to theCanberra Raiders at home. Lawton finished his 2017 campaign with 2 tries to his name and 11 first grade games for the club.
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 theNew Zealand Warriors, exactly one week before the 2018Telstra 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.
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 theDragons. 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]
Lawton played 18 games for New Zealand in the2020 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 the2021 NRL season.[15]
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 the2021 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 the2021 NRL season including the club's preliminary final loss againstSouth Sydney.[18]
In round 8 of the2022 NRL season, Lawton was sent off for a dangerous lifting tackle in Manly's 40–22 loss againstSouth Sydney. Lawton was later suspended for four matches over the incident.[19]On 7 June, Lawton was ruled out for rest of the2022 NRL season with an ACL injury.[20]
Lawton was limited to only ten games for Manly in the2023 NRL season as the club finished 12th on the table and missed the finals.[21]On 4 December 2023, it was reported that he had signed for theLondon Broncos in theSuper League.[22]
On 18 April, it was announced that Lawton had signed a two-year deal to joinNorth Queensland ahead of the 2025 NRL season.[23]Lawton played a total of 24 matches for Manly in the2024 NRL season as they finished 7th on the table and qualified for the finals. Manly would be eliminated in the second week of the finals by the Sydney Roosters.[24]
Lawton played eleven games for North Queensland in the2025 NRL season as the club finished 12th on the table.[25]
| Year | Team | Games | Tries | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 |  Gold Coast Titans | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 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 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 24 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2025 |  North Queensland Cowboys | 11 | ||
| Totals | 115 | 14 | 52 |
