Nick Meaney


Nick Meaney is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL.
He previously played for the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League.

Background

Meaney was born in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. He is the grandson of former Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and Western Suburbs Magpies player Denis Meaney.
He played his junior rugby league for the Ballina Seagulls, before being signed by the Newcastle Knights.

Playing career

Early years

In 2016, Meaney played for the Newcastle Knights' NYC team, being named their NYC Player of the Year, before graduating to their Intrust Super Premiership NSW team in 2017. In May 2017, he was named 19th man for the New South Wales Residents in their clash against the Queensland Residents. Later that same month, he played for the New South Wales under-20s team against the Queensland under-20s team. At the end of the 2017 season, he was awarded the Knights' ISP NSW Player of the Year. In September 2017, he re-signed with the Knights on a 1-year contract until the end of 2018.

2018

Meaney suffered an ankle injury in the first round of the Knights' Intrust Super Premiership NSW campaign, facing a lengthy recovery period, before returning in round 12. With new recruit Kalyn Ponga establishing himself as the Knights' first-choice fullback, Meaney signed a 3-year contract with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs starting in 2019, looking for a better opportunity to play first-grade. In round 18 of the 2018 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for the Knights against the Parramatta Eels, after a hamstring injury to Ponga. He went on to play 5 games in his debut year, scoring two tries and kicking one goal, his final game for the Knights, playing at fullback in his side's 14-24 loss against the St. George Illawarra Dragons in round 25.

2019

In round 25 of the 2019 NRL season, Meaney scored a hat-trick and kicked 5 goals as Canterbury defeated Brisbane 30-14 at ANZ Stadium in the last match of the season. Canterbury missed out on the finals finishing 12th on the table.