Michael Dobson (rugby league)

Michael Dobson

Dobson playing for Hull KR in 2010
Personal information
Born	29 May 1986 (1986-05-29) (age 25) Junee, New South Wales, Australia
Height	177 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	83 kg (13 st 1 lb) [1]
Playing information
Position	Halfback
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
2006	Catalans Dragons	12	5	41	1	103
2006	Wigan Warriors	14	6	61	0	146
2007–08	Canberra Raiders	20	3	56	0	124
2008–	Hull KR	89	34	305	9	771
	Total	135	48	463	10	1144
As of 23 January 2010
Source: Rugby League Project and Yesterday's Hero

Michael Dobson (born 29 May 1986 in Junee, New South Wales) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer with the Hull Kingston Rovers club of the Super League competition, in 2009 he won the prestigious Albert Goldthorpe Medal.

Career

While attending Erindale College, Dobson played for the Australian Schoolboys team in 2003 and 2004.^[2]

Dobson, originally a promising young halfback for the Canberra Raiders of Australia, kick-started his career when he was loaned to French Super League team Catalans Dragons as a replacement for the injured Stacey Jones. The 19 year old Dobson impressed with his natural ability while at Catalans Dragons, and he attracted the attention of several other Super League clubs, subsequently being signed by the Wigan Warriors in May 2006.

There was some controversy over Dobson's signing for Wigan. Under English law, Dobson was not permitted to play in England because he did not have a work permit. However, Wigan managed to obtain a work permit for him, albeit in controversial circumstances.^{[clarification needed]} When Dobson signed for Wigan, they were at the bottom of the Super League table, 6 points behind the nearest team and heading towards relegation. Dobson's impact at Wigan helped the team survive relegation in the 2006 season. Michael is noted for his good organisational skills on the field.^{[citation needed]}

Dobson is highly regarded as both a field and goal kicker. In 2006 he was statistically the best goal kicker in the world with a success rate of 84%, equal to or better than St Helens star Jamie Lyon (81%) and NRL players Hazem El Masri (84%) and Andrew Johns (80%).

Dobson re-signed with Canberra at the end of 2006, and was part of the Raiders' squad in 2007. He was the club's leading point scorer that season.

2008

Hull Kingston Rovers made a deal to sign the Canberra Raiders scrum-half after he secured a release from his contract with the NRL club.^[3] He signed two-and-a-half year deal at Hull KR after James Webster was released.^[4][5] Dobson had been linked with a mid-season transfer to Hull and Harlequins Rugby League.^[6][7][8] He has more recently been linked with a move to Hull KR, however they would need to release players before they could bring in Dobson.^[9]

2009

Dobson enjoyed a magnificent 2009 season for Rovers, helping them into fourth place in only their third Super League season. His superb individual performances saw him become the second winner of the Albert Goldthorpe Medal which is presented by Rugby Leaguer & League Express.

2010

Dobson started the 2010 season with a try and 5 goals in a 30-12 win over Salford City Reds. He has recently stated a desire to return to the NRL and once again play for the Canberra Raiders.^[10]

Super League Tries

Scores and results list Michael's try tally first.^[11]

Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Tournament	Scored
11 March 2006	Stade Aime Giral,	Leeds Rhinos	10-58	Super League	1
17 April 2006	Stade Aime Giral	St. Helens	20-34	Super League	1
22 April 2006	Stade Aime Giral,	Hull	28-34	Super League	1
14 May 2006	The Jungle	Castleford Tigers	18-40	Super League	1
1 September 2006	JJB Stadium	Bradford Bulls	38-16	Super League	3
10 September 2006	Twickenham Stoop	Harlequins	31-30	Super League	1
15 September 2006	JJB Stadium,	Hull	38-16	Super League	1
25 May 2008	Craven Park	Harlequins	22-8	Super League	2
29 June 2008	Odsal,	Bradford Bulls	40-20	Super League	1
13 July 2008	Craven Park,	Wigan Warriors	39-22	Super League	4
10 August 2008	Craven Park,	Harlequins	16-40	Super League	1
15 March 2009	Craven Park	Crusaders	48-18	Super League	1
29 March 2009	Craven Park	Salford City Reds	48-12	Super League	3
26 April 2009	Craven Park,	Catalans Dragons	44-10	Super League	1
3 May 2009	Murrayfield Stadium	Warrington Wolves	28-36	Super League	1
15 May 2009	JJB Stadium,	Wigan Warriors	12-20	Super League	1
25 July 2009	Craven Park	Hull	24-18	Super League	1
2 August 2009	The Jungle	Castleford Tigers	28-46	Super League	2
7 February 2010	Craven Park	Salford City Reds	30-12	Super League	1
27 February 2010	The Jungle	Castleford Tigers	24-28	Super League	1
5 April 2010	Twickenham Stoop,	Harlequins	12-52	Super League	1
16 May 2010	Craven Park	Crusaders	54-10	Super League	3
6 June 2010	Craven Park	Catalans Dragons	24-6	Super League	1
20 June 2010	Craven Park	Harlequins RL	42-6	Super League	2
4 July 2010	Belle Vue	Wakefield Trinity Wildcats	14-46	Super League	1
15 August 2010	The Willows	Salford City Reds	18-44	Super League	1
25 April 2011	Craven Park	Harlequins	37-24	Super League	1
15 May 2011	Craven Park	Bradford Bulls	46-18	Super League	1
25 June 2011	Twickenham Stoop	Harlequins RL	0-34	Super League	1

References

1. ^ "Hull KR The Official Site of the Robins". web page. Hull Kingston Rovers RLFC. http://hullkr.co.uk/michael-dobson-9. Retrieved 12 August 2011. 
2. ^ "SportingPulse Homepage for Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". SportingPulse. http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=7-2130-0-0-0&sID=26424. Retrieved 2008-10-10. 
3. ^ "Hull KR win race to sign Dobson". BBC. 2008-04-30. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/super_league/hull_kr/7376027.stm. Retrieved 2008-05-01. 
4. ^ "Dobson completes switch to Robins". BBC. 2008-05-07. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/super_league/hull_kr/7384713.stm. Retrieved 2008-05-07. 
5. ^ "Dobson Dobson set to make Hull KR debut". BBC. 2008-05-22. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/super_league/hull_kr/7415481.stm. Retrieved 2008-05-22. 
6. ^ "Hull close in on Dobson signing". BBC. 2008-04-23. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/super_league/hull/7363243.stm. Retrieved 2008-04-23. 
7. ^ "Quick release on cards for Noddy". Fox Sports. 2008-04-23. http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,23583348-23214,00.html. Retrieved 2008-04-23. 
8. ^ "Sharp eyes up Dobson". Sky Sports. 2008-04-23. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12196_3414346,00.html. Retrieved 2008-04-23. 
9. ^ "Rovers in pole position for Dobson". Sportinglife. 2008-04-30. http://www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=rleague/08/04/30/RUGBYL_Hull_KR.html. Retrieved 2008-04-30. 
10. ^ http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/sport/rugby-league/dobson-could-quit-super-league-for-raiders/1815779.aspx
11. ^ http://www.slstats.org/p335/Shaun+Briscoe.html

External links

• Hull KR profile
• Michael Dobson Wigan Career Page on the Wigan RL Fansite.
• Michael Dobson profile on www.wiganwarriors.com
• Canberra Raiders profile
• Dobson resigns for the Raiders

Persondata
Name	Dobson, Michael
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	29 May 1986
Place of birth	Junee, New South Wales
Date of death
Place of death