Nathan Peats


Nathan Peats is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL.
Peats previously played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League. He has played for the Indigenous All Stars, City Origin and New South Wales.

Background

Peats was born in Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia and is of Indigenous Australian descent. Peats is the son of a former Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and South Sydney Rabbitohs player, Geordi Peats.
Peats played his junior football for the La Perouse Panthers, going through the South Sydney Rabbitohs junior ranks and attended Christian Brothers' High School, Lewisham.

Playing career

Peats played in the Rabbitohs NYC team in 2009-2010 where he even captained the team in 2010 helping the team make it into the 2010 Toyota Cup Grand Final against the Junior New Zealand Warriors but lost 42-28.

2011

In round 4, Peats made his NRL debut for the Rabbitohs against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, off the interchange bench in the 32-30 win at Central Coast Stadium. In Round 21 against the St George Illawarra Dragons, Peats scored his first NRL try in the comeback 34-24 win after being down 20-0 after 35 minutes at WIN Stadium. On 28 August, Peats re-signed with the Rabbitohs until the end of the 2013 season. He finished his debut year playing in 20 matches and scoring a try in the 2011 NRL season.

2012

On 4 February, Peats played for the Indigenous All Stars against the NRL All Stars. After the Rabbitohs 20-12 loss against the Brisbane Broncos in round 4, Peats was dropped to the Rabbitohs NSW Cup team, the North Sydney Bears, where he played round 15. After round 15, Peats remained his spot in the top 17 for the rest of the season, starting at hooker in most of the matches. Peats finished the 2012 NRL season with him playing in 18 matches and scoring 5 tries.

2013

Peats again played for the Indigenous All Stars in the pre-season. On 13 March, he re-signed with the Rabbitohs until the end of the 2015 season. On 21 April, Peats played for the New South Wales City Origin team against the Country Origin team where he started at hooker in the 12-18 loss at Coffs Harbour. On 24 June, 3 months after signing a contract extension with the club, Peats went on to sign a 3-year deal with the Parramatta Eels starting in 2014. Peats commented on his signing saying, “it was a tough decision, the biggest of my life. I'm a Souths junior and love the club to death but to further my career I believe it's what's best for me, There is a long way to go before the season is over and I'm fully committed to Souths and having a year to remember". After round 22, where the Rabbitohs lost 26-8 against the Melbourne Storm, Peats was dropped to the NSW Cup and didn’t feature in any more matches for the Rabbitohs for the remainder of the season. He played in 17 matches in the 2013 NRL season.

2014

In February, Peats was selected in the Eels Auckland Nines squad. In round 1, he made his debut for Eels, against the New Zealand Warriors, playing at hooker in the 36-16 win at Parramatta Stadium. In round 2, against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Peats scored his first try for the Eels in the 18-22 loss. After good early season form, his name was thrown up with others as a potential replacement for the injured Robbie Farah at hooker for New South Wales. Unfortunately, in round 12 against the Penrith Panthers, Peats suffered a season ending anterior cruciate ligament knee injury. Despite his season being cut short early, Peats was branded “one of the best buys of the year”. He finished his first year for the Eels with 10 matches and 3 tries.

2015

On 3 May, Peats returned as hooker for City Origin. In round 23, against the Sydney Roosters, he suffered a season ending neck injury in the 18-28 loss at the Sydney Football Stadium. He scored 4 tries in his 19 matches for the Eels.

2016

On 8 May, Peats made his third appearance at hooker for the City Origin team. On 11 May, following the Parramatta Eels salary cap breach, Peats joined the Gold Coast Titans effective immediately on a contract to the end of 2017, after he was asked to leave to help get the Eels back under the salary cap. Peats finished his time with the Eels in the middle of the season, playing in 6 matches and scoring a try. After being asked to leave by Parramatta, Peats spoke to the media about his displeasure with the club by saying “The only regret I probably have is with myself and the things I’ve done during the games, “I’ve got my body in the wrong spot a few times for the club, for myself and for the boys and I regret that at times because now look at it, I’m the one walking away, It’s been a poorly run business to be honest in the last couple of years... until they sort that stuff out I think it’s going to keep continuing, No-one’s going to say sorry so it is what it is, I don’t really care. I’m looking forward to moving on. What’s a sorry going to do?”
In round 11, Peats made his debut for the Gold Coast Titans against the Penrith Panthers, playing off the interchange bench and scoring a try in the 28-24 win at Penrith Stadium. He scored 2 tries in his 14 matches for the Titans.

2017

On 10 February 2016, Peats started at hooker for the Indigenous All Stars against the World All Stars in the 34-8 win at Hunter Stadium. and made his State of Origin debut on 31 May for the NSW Blues at Suncorp Stadium against the Queensland Maroons. Peats re-signed with the Titans until the end of the 2020 season.

2018

Peats made 20 appearances for the Gold Coast in 2018 as the club missed out on the finals finishing in 14th position. Peats also missed out on origin selection in 2018 with coach Brad Fittler opting to select Damien Cook as hooker.

2019

In round 24 2019, Peats played his 150th NRL game in the Gold Coast's 38-4 loss to the Newcastle Knights at McDonald Jones Stadium. Peats made a total of 13 appearances for the Gold Coast in 2019 as the club endured a horror year on and off the field winning only 4 matches all season and claiming the wooden spoon after finishing last.