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| Full name | Michael Gordon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1983-10-24)24 October 1983 (age 42) Cooma,New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 179 cm (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 88 kg (13 st 12 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Fullback, Wing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Michael Gordon (born 24 October 1983) is an Australian former professionalrugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s, he played in theNational Rugby League (NRL). Gordon was aNew South Wales,Origin andCountry representative. He played atwing andfullback and was a notedgoal-kicker.
He previously played in the NRL for thePenrith Panthers between 2006 and 2012, theCronulla-Sutherland Sharks between 2013 and 2015, theParramatta Eels in 2016 and theSydney Roosters in 2017, then theGold Coast Titans from 2018 to 2019 where he saw out his career. Gordon played for New South WalesState of Origin andNSW Country.
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Gordon was born inCooma, New South Wales, Australia.
He played his junior rugby league for theTweed Coast Raiders and was educated at Kingscliff High School and graduated from Year 12 in 2001.
In round 8 of the2006 NRL season, Gordon made his NRL debut for thePenrith Panthers against theCronulla-Sutherland Sharks at centre in the Panthers 40–12 loss atPenrith Stadium.[2] In round 11 against theParramatta Eels, Gordon scored his first NRL career try in the Panthers 30–20 win at Penrith Stadium.[3] Gordon finished his debut year in the NRL with him playing in 18 matches, scoring 11 tries and kicking 7 goals for the Panthers in the season.
Gordon played in 19 matches, scoring 9 tries and kicking 57 goals, in2007
Gordon finished the2008 NRL season with him playing in 15 matches, scoring 11 tries and kicking 38 goals for the Penrith Panthers.
During the2009 season, Gordon kicked 23 consecutive goals before missing one, establishing himself as the Panthers number one goal kicker. He played in 15 matches, scoring 3 tries and kicking 57 goals.
In game 3 of the2010 State of Origin series, Gordon was selected to play forNew South Wales on the wing, Gordon kicking 3 goals in the Blues 23–18 loss atANZ Stadium.[4][5] In round 24 against theSouth Sydney Rabbitohs, Gordon set a new club record for most points in a match with 30 in the Panthers 54–18 win at Penrith Stadium.[6] At the end of2010 NRL season, Gordon set a new club record for most points in a season with 270 points in 25 matches.
Gordon was selected for theNSW Country side in the annualCity vs Country Origin match on wing, scoring a try and kicking 2 goals in Country's 18–12 win inAlbury.[7] In round 10, Gordon injured hisanterior cruciate ligament (ACL) which required surgery and ruled him out for the remainder of the season.[8] Gordon scored a try in the match.[9] Gordon finished the2011 NRL season with him playing in 9 matches, scoring 4 tries and kicking 25 goals for the Panthers.
In May 2012, theCronulla-Sutherland Sharks made Gordon an offer which he accepted beforePhil Gould, the Executive General Manager of the Penrith Panthers, was able to make a counter-offer. It was then announced that Gordon would be leaving for the Sharks in 2013, on a 3-year deal ending in 2015.[10] Gordon finished the2012 NRL season with him playing in 7 matches, scoring a try and kicking 2 goals in his last season with the Penrith Panthers.
In round 1 of the2013 NRL season, Gordon made his club debut for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks against theGold Coast Titans at fullback, kicking 2 goals in the Sharks 12–10 win atRemondis Stadium.[11] In round 2 against theSouth Sydney Rabbitohs, Gordon scored his first club try for the Sharks in the 14–12 loss at ANZ Stadium.[12] Gordon was selected for the NSW Country origin side for the annual City vs Country Origin match, playing at fullback in Country's 18–12 win atCoffs Harbour.[13] Gordon finished the 2013 NRL season as the Sharks highest point scorer with 112 points in 22 matches.
In round 22, against theNew Zealand Warriors, Gordon played his 150th NRL career match in the Sharks 16–12 loss atMt Smart Stadium.[14] He played in all of the Sharks 24 matches, scoring 6 tries and kicking 50 goals. On 8 September, Gordon was selected for theAustralia KangaroosFour Nations train-on squad but didn't make the final 24-man squad.[15]
On 19 May 2015, Gordon asked for an immediate release to sign with the Parramatta Eels so he could play at fullback permanently, and he reportedly could no longer work with coachShane Flanagan. The request was denied by the Sharks.[16][17] However, on 18 June 2015, Gordon signed a one-year contract with the Eels starting in 2016.[18] Gordon finished his last year with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks with him playing in 25 matches, scoring 4 tries and kicking 74 goals in the2015 NRL season.
In 2020, Gordon spoke of his move away from Cronulla-Sutherland to Parramatta saying "Usually if there's stuff going on in your life you can always go to training or go play and that takes it away but my problem was at training. There was a six or eight-week period there where I just hated footy. I was still playing but hated being there, hated what was going on behind the scenes, stuff that I had no control over. That was the worst part. If it was something I'd done I'd cop it on the chin and move on but it was stuff happening behind my back that I had no control of, that was the worst part. Going to Parra was like a breath of fresh air, I got out of there and fell in love with footy again and it was great".[19]
In round 1, Gordon made his club debut for theParramatta Eels in the season-opening match against theBrisbane Broncos, playing at fullback in the Eels 17–4 loss atParramatta Stadium.[20] In May, he was linked to theSydney Roosters and a possible mid-season transfer to the club but instead on 22 June 2016, Gordon signed a one-year deal with the Roosters starting in 2017, staying with Parramatta for the rest of the year.[21] In Round 23 against the Brisbane Broncos, Gordon played his 200th NRL career match and kicked 2 goals in the Eels 38–16 loss atSuncorp Stadium. He finished hisonly season at the Eels with him playing in all of the Eels 24 matches, scoring 5 tries and kicking 158 goals.
In round 1 of the2017 NRL season, Gordon made his club debut for theSydney Roosters against theGold Coast Titans, playing at fullback, scoring a try and kicking 4 goals in the 32–18 win atRobina Stadium.[22] On 4 July 2017, Gordon extended his contract with the Roosters for another season for 2018.[23] Gordon finished the2017 NRL season with 172 points for the Roosters, including seven tries and 72 goals in 22 matches. On 12 December 2017, Gordon was released from his final year of his contract with the Roosters to sign a 2-year deal with theGold Coast Titans starting in 2018. Gordon saying about the signing "I'm excited about the opportunity to return home and to play for the Titans," "I had a good conversation with Garth and the future looks bright", "I hope I can contribute and be part of a successful club here on the Gold Coast."[24]
In round 1 of the2018 NRL season, Gordon made his club debut for theGold Coast Titans against theCanberra Raiders, playing at fullback and kicking 5 goals in the Titans last minute 30–28 win atRobina Stadium.[25]
In round 5 of the2019 NRL season, Gordon made his 250th appearance as the Gold Coast defeated one of his former sides Penrith 30–24 atCbus Super Stadium. Gordon scored a try and kicked 5 goals in the game. On 7 August, Gordon announced that he would be retiring at the conclusion of the season.[26][27] On 7 September, Gordon played his last game against theSt. George Illawarra Dragons and kicked 2 out of 3 goals, scoring 4 points in a 24–16 loss atCbus Super Stadium. The Gold Coast would finish the2019 NRL season in last place on the table as they claimed the wooden spoon. Gordon finished his career having claimed three wooden spoons at three different clubs as he was previously with Penrith when they finished last in the2007 NRL season and with Cronulla in the2014 NRL season.[28][29][30]
In November 2020, he was arrested over drugs charges.[31] As a result, he was stood down by the Gold Coast club.[32]On 27 January 2022, Gordon's trial was adjourned for six months with the hearing being rescheduled for 28 July 2022.[33]On 15 September 2022, Gordon avoided conviction after being found guilty of two drug supply charges.[34]