Kenny Edwards (rugby league)

Kenny Edwards (born 13 September 1989) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for the Castleford Tigers in the Betfred Super League.

Kenny Edwards
Personal information
Full nameKenneth Edwards
Born (1989-09-13) 13 September 1989
Levin, Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight15 st 6 lb (98 kg)[1]
Playing information
PositionSecond-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2013–18 Parramatta Eels 70 6 0 0 24
2018–19 Catalans Dragons 37 10 0 0 40
2020–22 Huddersfield Giants 29 3 0 0 12
2022(loan) → Castleford Tigers 25 3 0 0 12
2023– Castleford Tigers 19 2 0 0 8
Total 180 24 0 0 96
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2021– Combined Nations All Stars 2 0 0 0 0
Source: [2][3][4]
As of 7 December 2022

He previously played for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL, and the Catalans Dragons and the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League. Edwards has also spent time on loan at Huddersfield at Castleford.

Early life

Edwards was born in Levin, New Zealand, and is of Māori and Cook Island descent.

He played his junior football for the Levin Knights and the Pukekohe Pythons, before being signed by the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

As a youngster, Edwards played for the Junior Kiwis.[5]

In 2007, Edwards played for the Australian Schoolboys.[6]

Club career

In 2008, Edwards played for Manly Warringah Sea Eagles' NYC team,[7] however his contract was terminated at the start of 2009 due to disciplinary reasons.

He instead joined the St. George Illawarra Dragons for the 2009 season, again playing in the NYC competition.[8] Later on, he had his contract terminated once again for disciplinary reasons which forced him to sit out the 2011 season.[6]

In 2012 Edwards joined the Southport Tigers in the Gold Coast Rugby League competition. After acting as a trainer in one of the Tigers' under-17s matches, Edwards was accused of repeatedly inciting his team to fight their opponents. He was subsequently banned for the rest of the season, but had the charges downgraded on appeal and was allowed to play for Southport in the final series.[6]

Parramatta Eels

Edwards joined the Parramatta Eels on a one-year contract for the 2013 season.[6] On 25 July 2013, the contract was extended for another two seasons.[9] He then made his NRL debut for the Eels during round 26 of the 2013 NRL season.[10]

On 22 September 2013, Edwards was named at second-row in the 2013 New South Wales Cup team of the year.[11]

In October 2014, Edwards was named in the New Zealand Māori squad to play the Queensland Murri team.[12]

On 5 June 2014, Edwards again extended his contract with the Eels, signing until the end of 2017.[13]

During the 2015 NRL season, Edwards was handed a 9 month playing ban and missed the entire season for taking a urine sample on behalf of fellow Parramatta player Kaysa Pritchard.[14]

In 2017, Edwards missed the first 7 rounds of the season after pleading guilty to a domestic violence charge, having poured alcohol over the head of his partner during an argument. In his second game back, Edwards was the first player to be sinbinned after the NRL changed the rules to outlaw players slapping opposition players. Edwards was shown throwing a chair across the change rooms after the incident.[15] Kenny Edwards played his 50th NRL match against the St George Illawarra Dragons in round 15 of the 2017 NRL season.

On 28 July 2017, during Parramatta's victory over Brisbane, Edwards delivered a late tackle on Brisbane player Jonus Pearson, who was lying on the ground following a high tackle by Parramatta player Nathan Brown. Edwards was later cited over the incident and faced a $1500 fine if he entered an early guilty plea.[16]

On 15 May 2018, Edwards was stood down indefinitely by Parramatta after he allegedly fled from police following a random roadside check in Merrylands, Sydney. Edwards did not face Fairfield Local Court but attended a traffic offenders course, having been accused of abandoning a vehicle he was driving on a suspended licence. Edwards only raised the matter with the club on 7 May 2018, which was three weeks after allegedly running away from police after being approached by officers.[17]

On 19 May 2018, Edwards was released by Parramatta. In his time at the club, Edwards missed over 35 games for Parramatta due to incidents off the field.[18]

Catalans Dragons

On 25 May 2018, Edwards signed a one and a half year deal to join Super League side Catalans Dragons.[19]

In August 2018, Edwards was part of the Catalans Dragons side which won their first ever trophy, claiming victory in the 2018 Challenge Cup Final victory over the Warrington Wolves at Wembley Stadium.[20][21]

On 29 October 2018, Edwards was suspended from driving for 6 months and fined $600 for the incident which occurred back in May 2018.[22]

In the Super League XXIV season during a match between Catalans and Warrington, Edwards was involved in an ugly on-field brawl with opposition players. The game was ultimately called off. The fighting on the field also spilled off the field with rivals fans clashing in the stands. Edwards was later charged by the Rugby Football League with crowd incitement but was then cleared of any wrongdoing.[23]

Huddersfield Giants

In November 2019, it was announced that Edwards had signed a contract to join Huddersfield.[24]

On 7 July 2021, Edwards was suspended for ten matches after pleading guilty to a charge of Other Contrary Behaviour. Edwards was initially placed on report during Huddersfield's game against Catalans Dragons after appearing to stick his finger in Sam Kasiano's buttocks. Edwards was also fined £500.[25]

Castleford Tigers (loan)

On 19 September 2021, it was reported that Edwards had signed for the Castleford Tigers in the Super League on a season-long loan.[26] He made his Tigers debut on 11 February against the Salford Red Devils.[27] He was voted the Fans' Man of the Match for his performance against the Leeds Rhinos in the Challenge Cup,[28] and scored his first try for the club on 14 April against Wakefield Trinity.[29] On 24 June 2022, Edwards signed a three-year deal with Castleford to remain at the club until the end of 2025.[30] Edwards played 25 games for Castleford in the Super League XXVIII season as the club finished 11th on the table narrowly avoiding relegation.[31]

Representative

On 25 June 2021 he played for the Combined Nations All Stars in their 26-24 victory over England, staged at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington, as part of England’s 2021 Rugby League World Cup preparation.

Personal life

Edwards is the cousin of Wests Tigers player James Tamou.[32] He has two children, a daughter named Malia-Rose Edwards and a son named Kymani Edwards.

References
  1. "Kenny Edwards Biography". Castleford Tigers. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  2. "Player Summary: Kenny Edwards". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  3. loverugbyleague
  4. Rugby League Project
  5. "Parramatta Eels dock Kenny Edwards second game". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 August 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  6. "Eels sign another bad-boy reserve grader..." Leyedeel.com. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  7. "TOYOTA CUP TRIALS RAIDERS READY TO TACKLE TIGERS - LUKE SET TO STAR IN MOLLYMOOK CLASH". Ourfootyteam.com. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  8. "LATEST KEEBRA PARK FOOTY NEWS". Ourfootyteam.com. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  9. "Edwards Re-Signs with Eels". Parraeels.com.au. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  10. Shawn Dollin and Andrew Ferguson (16 October 2014). "NRL 2013". Rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  11. "2013 NSWRL.com.au VB NSW Cup Team of the Year - Announcement". Nswrl.com.au. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  12. "Eels Named for NZ Maori". Parraeels.com.au. 13 October 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  13. "Eels Enforcers Re-Sign with Parramatta". Parraeels.com.au. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  14. "NRL 2016: Parramatta Eels hooker Kaysa Pritchard wants to repay the faith shown by coach Brad Arthur". 16 March 2016.
  15. Paul Zalunardo. "Video: Kenny Edwards the first NRL player to be sin binned for slap after Gavin Cooper scuffle". nine.com.au.
  16. Steve Zemek; Scott Bailey (29 July 2017). "NRL: Parramatta Eels' Kenny Edwards cops fine for shot on Brisbane Broncos' Jonus Pearson". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  17. "Edwards stood down indefinitely by Eels". 15 May 2018.
  18. "Kenny Edwards officially released from Parramatta Eels | League | Sporting News". www.sportingnews.com. Archived from the original on 21 May 2018.
  19. "Catalans Dragons sign Kenny Edwards following Parramatta exit".
  20. "Catalans Dragons beat Warrington in Challenge Cup final to make history". Guardian. 25 August 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  21. "Relive Catalans' historic Challenge Cup final win". BBC Sport. 19 August 2018.
  22. "Kenny Edwards sentenced over 'appalling' driving record".
  23. "Catalans' Kenny Edwards cleared of incitement charge after crowd trouble". The Guardian. 6 August 2019.
  24. "Huddersfield Giants sign NRL star on two year deal". Examiner Live.
  25. "Edwards given 10-match ban". leaguewrites.com. 7 July 2021.
  26. "Kenny Edwards: Castleford Tigers sign Huddersfield Giants back-rower on loan for 2022". BBC Sport. 19 September 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  27. "Super League: Castleford Tigers 16-26 Salford Red Devils". BBC Sport. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  28. Castleford Tigers [@CTRLFC] (29 March 2022). "You chose Kenny Edwards as the @HuntersHomes Fans Man of the Match following our win over Leeds on Saturday!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  29. Newsum, Matt (14 April 2022). "Super League: Wakefield Trinity 4-34 Castleford Tigers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  30. "Kenny Edwards' club for 2023 revealed after Super League and NRL interest". www.seriousaboutrl.com.
  31. "Castleford Tigers ace Alex Mellor delivers brutally honest assessment of 'awful' season; 'We've massively underperformed'". www.loverugbyleague.com.
  32. "Edwards Making Up For Lost Time in NRL". Nswrl.com.au. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
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