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Ben Spina
Personal information
Born (1988-04-26) 26 April 1988 (age 36)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia[1]
Height186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight100 kg (15 st 10 lb)
Playing information
PositionSecond-row, Lock
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2014–17 North Qld Cowboys 16 3 0 0 12
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2013–15 Queensland Residents 2 0 0 0 0
Source: [2]
As of 6 January 2024

Ben Spina (/spiːnə/ SPEE-na) (born 26 April 1988) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who previously played for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League. He plays at second-row and lock.

Background

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Born in Sydney while his father, Laurie, was playing for Eastern Suburbs, Spina grew up in Ingham, Queensland and played his junior football for the Herbert River Crushers before being signed by the North Queensland Cowboys. In 2008, Spina played for the Cowboys' NYC team.[3]

In 2009, Spina joined the Northern Pride RLFC in the Queensland Cup. In 2011, Spina signed a 3-year contract with the North Queensland Cowboys starting in 2012. In 2012 and 2013, Spina won the Northern Pride RLFC Player of the Year awards. In 2013, Spina played for the Queensland Residents.[4] In 2014, Spina was again selected for the Queensland Residents,[5] but had to withdraw due to being called up for his NRL debut.[6]

Playing career

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2014

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In Round 17 of the 2014 NRL season, Spina made his NRL debut for North Queensland against St. George Illawarra.[7]

Spina was a member of the Northern Pride's Grand Final winning Queensland Cup and 2014 NRL State Championship winning sides.

On 9 October 2014, Spina re-signed with the North Queensland club on a one-year contract.[8]

2015

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On 10 June 2015, Spina re-signed with North Queensland on a two-year contract.[9]

2016

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On 5 May, Spina was named on the interchange bench in QRL journalist Tony Webeck's Queensland Residents team of the past 10 years.[10] He played two games off the bench for the North Queensland club in 2016.[11]

2017

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Spina played eight games for North Queensland in 2017, scoring two tries, before suffering a season-ending bicep injury.[12]

2018

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After not having his contract renewed by North Queensland, Spina joined the Herbert River Crushers in the Townsville & District Rugby League A Grade competition.

Personal life

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Spina is the son of former North Queensland Cowboys player and inaugural captain, Laurie Spina, becoming the first father-son duo to play for the Cowboys,[13] and the brother of Brisbane Roar FC W-League player Ashley Spina.[14]

Spina is an Australian Apprenticeships Ambassador for the Australian Government.[15]

Statistics

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NRL

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Statistics are correct to the end of the 2017 season[16]
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2014 North Queensland 1 0 0 — 0 0
2015 North Queensland 5 1 0 — 0 4
2016 North Queensland 2 0 0 — 0 0
2017 North Queensland 8 2 0 — 0 8
Career totals 16 3 0 — 0 12

References

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  1. ^ "Ben Spina". Cowboys. Archived from the original on 9 July 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  2. ^ "Ben Spina - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 26 April 1988. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  3. ^ "Ben Spina player results, scores, news and statistics". Archived from the original on 16 September 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  4. ^ "XXXX Queensland Residents team". QRL.com.au. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  5. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20150614194959/http://www.rlcm.com.au/latest-news/27636-rugby-league. Archived from the original on 14 June 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2014. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ^ "Changes made to Qld Residents". QRL.com.au. 4 July 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  7. ^ http://www.cowboys.com.au/news/2014/07/05/team_list_cowboys_v_dragons.html. Retrieved 5 July 2014. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)[dead link‍]
  8. ^ "Spina joins Toyota Cowboys for 2015". Cowboys.com.au. 9 October 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  9. ^ "Spina extends Cowboys contract". Cowboys.com.au. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  10. ^ Webeck, Tony (5 May 2016). "A Residents team to match any other". QRL. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  11. ^ "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  12. ^ "Spina loss a big blow for Cowboys". Townsville Bulletin. 20 June 2017.
  13. ^ "History-making debut for Spina". NRL.com. 6 July 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  14. ^ "Tears flow as Northern Pride forward Ben Spina feels sister's pain". Cairns Post. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  15. ^ "Mechanical Fitter and turner: Ben Spina". Australian Apprenticeships. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  16. ^ "Ben Spina - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 26 April 1988. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
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