Andrew_McCullough

Andrew McCullough

Andrew McCullough

Australian rugby league footballer

Not to be confused with Andrew McCulloch (footballer).

Andrew McCullough (born 30 January 1990) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a hooker for the Brisbane Broncos, Newcastle Knights, and St. George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League (NRL), and has played for Queensland in the State of Origin series.

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Background

McCullough was born in Dalby, Queensland, Australia to Wendy and Graham McCullough.

In 2018, McCullough married Carlie Harrison in a ceremony at Byron Bay.[3]

Biography

McCullough attended Dalby State School and subsequently Dalby State High School, before accepting a scholarship to Brisbane State High School for grade 12.[4] During his time in Dalby, he played for the Dalby Devils and on a number of school teams. He played for the Australian Schoolboys team in 2007 while attending Brisbane State High School.[5] In 2003, while he was in grade 8, he had already signed with the Brisbane Broncos.[4] He made his debut in the Telstra Premiership against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks on 17 May 2008, becoming the first player born in the 1990s to make his debut in the NRL's top grade. In 2009, he was named the Broncos' "Rookie of the Year".

McCullough was named the 2012 Brisbane Broncos season's player of the year.[6] He played for the Broncos in their extra-time loss to the North Queensland Cowboys in the 2015 NRL Grand Final, and was selected to make his State of Origin debut for Queensland in 2018, starting all three games of that series at hooker following the retirement of former Queensland captain Cameron Smith.

After 260 games for the club, but by now being overlooked for a spot in the starting line-up ahead of the younger Jake Turpin, McCullough left the Broncos on 21 May 2020 to join the Newcastle Knights for the remainder of the 2020 season.[7] He played in 8 matches for the Knights and scored two tries before having his season ended by a hamstring injury.[8][9] He was then removed from the Knights' playing squad list to make way for the mid-season signing of Blake Green.[10]

Newcastle chose not to renew McCullough's contract and he was able to return to Brisbane after taking up a player option in his contract for 2021.[11]

On 15 February 2021, he signed a three-year deal to join St. George Illawarra.[12] He made his debut for St. George Illawarra in round 1 of the 2021 NRL season against rivals Cronulla-Sutherland where the Dragons lost 32-18 at Kogarah Oval.[13]

McCullough was selected for the Queensland Maroons in Game 2 of the 2021 State of Origin Series, following an injury to incumbent hooker Harry Grant.[14] In round 22 of the 2021 NRL season, McCullough was taken from the field with an ankle injury in the Saints loss against Penrith. On 17 August 2021, it was announced that McCullough would be ruled out for the remainder of the season.[15]

On 10 November 2022, McCullough announced his immediate retirement from rugby league with a year remaining on his contract with St. George Illawarra.[16]

Statistics

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References

  1. [1]
    "Andrew McCullough". LoveRugbyLeague. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  2. [2]
    "Andrew McCullough - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
  3. [3]
    "GALLERY: Dalby's Andrew McCullough married at Byron Bay". The Dalby Herald. 18 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  4. [4]
    "Andrew McCullough". The Courier-Mail. 1 September 2015. Archived from the original on 26 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020 – via PressReader.
  5. [5]
    "Australian Schoolboys". Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League. SportingPulse. Archived from the original on 21 August 2008. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
  6. [6]
    "Honour Board". Brisbane Broncos. 12 October 2012. Archived from the original on 26 January 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  7. [7]
    "Andrew McCullough joins Knights for 2020 NRL season". Newcastle Knights. 21 May 2020. Archived from the original on 28 May 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  8. [8]
    "Custom Match List - Rugby League Project". Rugby League Project. Archived from the original on 1 July 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  9. [9]
    Glover, Ben (27 July 2020). "EXCLUSIVE: How Andrew McCullough injury could become Broncos cap problem". Wide World of Sport. Nine Digital. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  10. [10]
    "Blake Green joins Knights effective immediately". Newcastle Knights. 4 August 2020. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  11. [11]
    "2021 Signings Tracker". National Rugby League. 9 December 2020. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  12. [12]
    Walter, Brad (15 February 2021). "McCullough seals Dragons deal until end of 2023". National Rugby League. Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  13. [13]
    "Cronulla Sharks win scrappy clash with Dragons; Canberra Raiders beat Wests Tigers with dominant second half". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 14 March 2021. Archived from the original on 14 March 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  14. [14]
    St John, Mark (21 June 2021). "Veteran's shock recall as teen freak's Origin debut confirmed: QLD Maroons Team". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  15. [15]
    "Casualty Ward: Fifita undergoes surgery; Brimson done for year". National Rugby League. 18 August 2021. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  16. [16]
    "Andrew McCullough calls time on NRL career, tells Dragons teammates he is retiring". wwos.nine.com.au.
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