Chris Smith (rugby league, born 1994)


Chris Smith is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL.
He previously played for the Penrith Panthers and the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League.

Background

Smith was born in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
He played his junior rugby league for the Nightcliff Dragons in the Darwin Rugby League and attended Casuarina High School, before being signed to a contract by the North Queensland Cowboys at age 15. At 17 years of age, he signed with the Penrith Panthers, moving to Sydney and attending Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown.

Playing career

Early career

From 2012 to 2014, Smith played for the Penrith Panthers' NYC team. In August 2012, he played for the Australian Schoolboys.

2015

In 2015, Smith graduated to the Penrith New South Wales Cup team. In Round 26 of the 2015 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for Penrith against the Newcastle Knights.

2016

On 6 April, Smith was released from his Penrith contract to join the Sydney Roosters effective immediately, on a contract to the end of 2017.

2017

Smith made only one first grade appearance for the Sydney Roosters in the 2017 NRL season which came against Canberra in round 12 and ended in a 16-24 loss.

2018

At the end of 2017, Smith signed a contract with Canterbury-Bankstown. Smith made only one appearance for Canterbury in the 2018 NRL season which came against Brisbane in round 21 and ended in a 36-22 victory at ANZ Stadium. Smith spent most of the year playing with Canterbury's reserve grade team. Smith played in the club's Intrust Super Premiership NSW grand final victory over Newtown at Leichhardt Oval. The following week, Smith played in Canterbury's NRL State Championship side which defeated Redcliffe 42-18 at ANZ Stadium.

2019

Smith made a total of 20 appearances for Canterbury in the 2019 NRL season as the club finished 12th on the table. Smith only missed 5 matches all season and cemented himself in the first grade squad.
On 22 November 2019, Smith signed a two-year contract extension to stay at Canterbury until the end of the 2021 season.

2020

In February, Smith was ruled out for the first three months of the 2020 NRL season after suffering a torn MCL and a partial ACL tear during the pre-season Indigenous All Stars game.