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| Born | (1989-09-21)21 September 1989 (age 35) Wellington, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 190 cm (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 99 kg (15 st 8 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sandor Earl (/ˈɜːrl/; born 21 September 1989) is a formerNew Zealand Māori internationalrugby league footballer who played on thewing for theSydney Roosters,Penrith Panthers,Canberra Raiders and theMelbourne Storm in theNational Rugby League (NRL).[3] He was banned for four years for a doping violation in 2013.
Earl was born inWellington, New Zealand and is ofHungarian, Māori and English descent. He was raised in Sydney's eastern suburbs.[4]
Earl played for thePaddington-Woollahra Tigers in the Sydney Roosters' junior district. Sandor as a junior also played for Fairfield Patrician Brothers and Hills District Bulls in the Parramatta Eels Junior District.
Earl was educated at the famous Rugby League nurserySt Gregory's College,Campbelltown,New South Wales from year 7-11 before injuring his knee and undergoing a knee reconstruction. After recovering from the operation, Earl changed toMatraville Sports High School in 2007 where he was a member of the Arrive Alive Cup winning team, scoring a try in the final against Patrician Brothers Blacktown.[citation needed]
Earl subsequently entered the NRL for theSydney Roosters, making his debut in round 16 of the2009 NRL season againstCronulla-Sutherland.[3] However, the Roosters let him go at the end of the season, after he and teammateJake Friend were charged with assault (for which he was found not guilty) on 20 July, for"sustained concussion, bruising to face, pain to neck and back", the victim being 31-year-old Queensland woman believed to be Kristy Bradley, the niece of ABC rugby league radio commentator David Morrow.[5]
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The following season, he signed for thePenrith Panthers and was named the club's top rookie player.[6] His 2010 season was capped by scoring a spectacular try in the finals against theCanberra Raiders, cartwheeling towards the try line and planting the ball over it while his body was suspended over the sideline.[7] However, Penrith lost the match and were knocked out of the finals the following week, losing to Earl's old club, the Sydney Roosters.[8]
Earl played for Penrith's feeder club theWindsor Wolves in the New South Wales Cup Grand Final which they lost toCanterbury-Bankstown.
In 2011, Earl played few games before being ruled out for the season with a shoulder injury. There was then talk that he had signed a contract with theMelbourne Storm. This was later proved false and that he had resigned with the Penrith club for two years.[citation needed]
As of June, 2012 Earl has been released by Penrith to join theCanberra Raiders.[9][10] In October, 2012 Earl signed to stay with the Canberra club until the end of 2013.[11] On 29 August 2013, Earl was removed from the NRL competition and the Canberra Raiders after he was issued with an infraction notice for the use and trafficking of drugs to which he has admitted to and assisted theAustralian Sports Anti-Doping Authority with their investigation.[12]
On 24 October 2017, it was announced Earl had signed a one-year deal to return to rugby league with theMelbourne Storm after completing his four-year drug ban. On 16 January 2019 Melbourne Storm announced that Earl had signed a two-year Deal with the club. On 22 November 2017, it was revealed that Earl had suffered a tornanterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury at pre-season training with Melbourne, which ruled him out for the entire2018 NRL season.[13][14][15]
After over two thousand days since his last first grade NRL game. Earl made hisMelbourne Storm debut in the2019 NRL season round 5 clash againstNorth Queensland. He had his Melbourne Storm jersey (cap 194) presented to him by Melbourne Storm coachCraig Bellamy.
On 4 December 2020, Earl announced his immediate retirement from the NRL.[16]
In 2010 he was named in theNew Zealand Māori team that played againstEngland.[17]
In 2008, Earl was featured in the "Gods" calendar as a fund raising activity for the breast cancer charity alongside other sportsman of Australia.[18]
In 2024, Earl appeared as "Phoenix" inGladiators onChannel 10.[19]
Earl is currently living in Melbourne, Australia and is Director of Performance at Air Locker Training.[20][21]
On 29 August 2013, Earl was stood down from the NRL competition after he was issued with an infraction notice for the use and trafficking of the performance-enhancing drugCJC-1295, a synthetic growth hormone analogue. He admitted the charges and assisted ASADA with their investigation.[12] On 2 June 2014, Sandor's charges of the use of peptides were dropped by ASADA.[22][23] 18 days after ASADA dropped the charges he won an injunction against the anti-doping investigation, delaying the NRL doping hearing.[24][25] Earl and his lawyer, Tim Unsworth, fought against the NRL and ASADA.[26] Earl's hearing at the NRL's anti-doping tribunal was postponed in July 2014.[27]
In October 2015, the NRL announced that the Australian Anti-Doping Tribunal had handed Earl a 4-year ban for the following anti-doping rule violations; use ofCJC-1295 (eight violations), possession of CJC-1295, trafficking insomatropin, trafficking inclenbuterol, attempted trafficking inSARMS and attempted trafficking intestosterone. The ban was set to run from the date when Earl was provisionally suspended, 29 August 2013, and to end 29 August 2017.[28][29][30]
