Bronson Xerri

Bronson Xerri (/ʃɛri/, "sherry") (born 10 September 2000) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays as a centre for the Canterbury Bulldogs in the National Rugby League (NRL).[2]

Bronson Xerri
Personal information
Born (2000-09-10) 10 September 2000
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height187 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight99 kg (15 st 8 lb)
Playing information
PositionCentre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2019 Cronulla Sharks 22 13 0 0 52
2024– Canterbury Bulldogs 0 0 0 0 0
Total 22 13 0 0 52
Source: [1]
As of 23 March 2021

To date, he is one of only two players in the history of the game (the other being Anthony Xuereb) with a last name beginning with the letter "X".[3]

Background

Xerri was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and is of Maltese descent.[4]

He played his junior rugby league for the Aquinas Colts.

Career

2019

Xerri made his debut in Round 4 of the 2019 NRL season against the Parramatta Eels. Xerri went on from there and kept playing in the centres for the next two rounds of the season where he scored his first NRL career try against the Penrith Panthers in Round six at Melbourne Albert park

In Round 10 against rivals St George, Xerri scored his first career hat-trick as Cronulla won the match 22–9 at Kogarah Oval. The following week, Xerri scored two tries as Cronulla defeated Parramatta 42–22.[5][6] In Round 20, Xerri scored 2 tries as Cronulla defeated South Sydney 39–24 at Shark Park.[7] In Round 22 against St George, Xerri scored the winning try as Cronulla won the match 18–12 at Shark Park.[8]

At the end of the 2019 regular season, Cronulla finished in 7th place on the table. Xerri played in the club's elimination final match which Cronulla lost 28–16 against Manly-Warringah at Brookvale Oval with Xerri scoring a try in the loss.[9]

2020

On 26 May 2020, Xerri was provisionally suspended after failing a drug test.[10][11]

On 1 September, Xerri's B-Sample returned and confirmed he had tested positive to use of anabolic steroids. The NRL released a statement saying “The National Rugby League (NRL) has today issued Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks player Bronson Xerri with a Notice of Alleged Anti-Doping Rule Violations under the NRL’s Anti-Doping Policy,” the NRL said in a statement.

“This follows the return of a positive sample and completion of the anti-doping process administered by Sport Integrity Australia.

“The Notice alleges that Mr Xerri breached the policy through the presence, use and possession of Anabolic Androgenic Steroids prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the NRL’s Anti-Doping Policy".[12]

2021

On 23 March, the NRL confirmed that Xerri had been formally suspended for four years following a ruling made by the NRL Anti-Doping Tribunal. Xerri will be free to resume his career from November 2023.

In response to his appeal being rejected and the ban upheld, Xerri said “For all you haters calling me a drug cheat, you all have no clue how much I put in the work to be where I was, and to my loyal family and friends, words can’t express how much you all mean to me. The comeback is on, 2024".[13][14]

2022

On 2 December, it was announced that the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs had offered Xerri a two-year deal starting in 2024 after his doping ban is completed.[15]

References
  1. Rugby League Project
  2. "Xerri suspended for four years". NRL.com. 23 March 2021.
  3. Collis, Ian (2019). The A to Z of Rugby League Players. New Holland Publishers. ISBN 9781921024986.
  4. "Cronulla Shark's Bronson Xerri vows to ignore niggle from Melbourne Storm's Will Chambers". SMH Sport. 2 May 2019.
  5. "Xerri hat-trick sinks Dragons in Wollongong". NRL. 26 May 2019.
  6. "Cronulla Sharks' Bronson Xerri burns Parramatta Eels in NRL rout". Stuff.co.nz. 8 June 2019.
  7. "Graham leads Sharks to rout of rusty Rabbitohs". NRL. 3 August 2019.
  8. "Sydney Roosters belt Warriors, Cronulla Sharks beat St George Illawarra Dragons to go into top eight". ABC News. 18 August 2019.
  9. "Under-strength Sea Eagles send Sharks packing". NRL. 14 September 2019.
  10. News, Sporting. "NRL 2020: Bronson Xerri provisionally suspended after failing ASADA drug testNRL 2020: Bronson Xerri provisionally suspended after failing ASADA drug test". Sporting News Australia. Retrieved 26 May 2020. {{cite web}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  11. "Young NRL star Bronson Xerri suspended after failing doping test". Guardian. 26 May 2020.
  12. "Sharks star Bronson Xerri's B-sample tests positive for anabolic steroids". www.foxsports.com.au. September 2020.
  13. "Show you all': Banned Xerri vows 2024 'comeback is on'". www.foxsports.com.au. 23 March 2021.
  14. "Xerri suspended for four years". NRL.com. 23 March 2021.
  15. "Banned drug cheat making wild NRL comeback with Bulldogs". www.news.com.au.
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