Josh Dugan

Josh Dugan (born 10 May 1990) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the St. George Illawarra Dragons of the National Rugby League. An Australian Test, New South Wales State of Origin, Country Origin, Prime Minister's XIII and NRL All Stars representative fullback and centre, he previously played for the Canberra Raiders.

Born in Garran, Australian Capital Territory, Dugan played his junior rugby league for the Valley Dragons and South Tuggeranong Knights before being signed by the Canberra Raiders. Dugan also played Rugby Union for Marist College Canberra. After being signed by the Raiders, Dugan played in their NYC team in 2008 and 2009, scoring 25 tries and kicking 107 goals in 25 games. Dugan played in the Raiders' NYC Grand Final win over the Brisbane Broncos, scoring a try and kicking 4 goals.

2009

In Round 4 of the 2009 NRL season, Dugan made his NRL debut for the Canberra Raiders against the North Queensland Cowboys, playing at fullback in the Raiders 23-18 win at Canberra Stadium. After his debut, he established his position at fullback in the Raiders' NRL team. In Round 21 against the Brisbane Broncos, Dugan scored his first NRL career try in the Raiders demolishing 56-0 win at Canberra Stadium. Dugan finished the season 8th in the NRL in tackle breaks, 110, 1st in average running metres per game, 191.5, 7th in total running metres, 3064, 1st in average kick return metres per game, 82.5 and finished 3rd in overall kick return metres, 1321, only behind Billy Slater and Jarryd Hayne. He was also short-listed for the Dally M Rookie of the Year Award in what was an impressive debut season. At the conclusion of the season, Dugan was named the Raiders' Rookie of the Year and was the joint winner of the Mal Meninga Medal for the Raiders Player of the Year Award along with Josh Miller. Dugan finished his debut year in the NRL with him playing in 16 matches, scoring 1 try and kicking 5 goals. In September, he played for the Prime Minister's XIII team against Papua New Guinea.

2010

In May 2010, Dugan was selected for the Country Origin team to play in the annual City vs Country Origin match. He scored a try on debut and was named the Man of the Match. On 7 June, Dugan was named in the 21-man squad for the New South Wales team for Game 3 of the 2010 State of Origin series. However, he was not selected to play in the match after Parramatta's Jarryd Hayne was cleared over a separate off-field incident. On 13 July, Dugan re-signed with the Raiders on a 2-year contract, ending speculation he was headed to the Sydney Roosters. In Round 19 against the Newcastle Knights, Dugan scored a hatrick in the Raiders 52-18 win at Canberra Stadium. Dugan scored 13 tries from 23 matches in 2010.

2011

On 12 February, Dugan was selected for the NRL All Stars in the annual All Stars Match, scoring a try on debut and won the publicly voted Preston Campbell Medal for Man of the Match. In May, Dugan was again selected for the Country Origin team, playing at fullback in Country's 18-12 win at Albury. Dugan played fullback for New South Wales in Game 1 of the 2011 State of Origin series as the Blues lost 16-12 at Suncorp Stadium. He finished the season having played in 13 matches and scoring 6 tries.

2012

In February, Dugan was again selected for the NRL All Stars, scoring a try in the 28-36 loss to the Indigenous All Stars. He scored 6 tries from 17 games in 2012.

2013

Dugan had his Raiders contract terminated on 14 March following a string of off-field incidents. In April, he was set to sign a $2m, three-year deal with the Brisbane Broncos until an outburst on social media website Instagram cost him a contract. He subsequently signed a contract with the St. George Illawarra Dragons for the remainder of the season on 10 May. In Round 10 he made his debut for the Dragons against the Parramatta Eels, scoring two tries in the Dragons 32-12 win at WIN Stadium. Dugan was selected to play for New South Wales in Game II and Game lll of the 2013 State of Origin series. On 2 August, Dugan extended his contract with the Dragons for another 4 years, that will keep him with the club till the end of the 2017 season. Dugan finished the year with him playing in 10 matches, scoring 6 tries and kicking 11 goals.

2014

On 14 February 2014, Dugan was selected in the Dragons inaugural 2014 Auckland Nines squad. He made a mid-season move to the centres, scoring a hatrick against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the round 13 30-0 win at WIN Stadium. Subsequently, Dugan was chosen to play at Centre for Game 2 of the 2014 State of Origin series alongside Will Hopoate. Dugan had a solid match in the Blues 6-4 win resulting the Blues breaking their 8-year losing streak to Queensland. In Game 3 of the series, Dugan scored his first try in origin level in the 32-8 loss at Suncorp Stadium. In Round 23 against his former club, the Canberra Raiders, Dugan scored a try in the Dragons 34-16 win, the Dragons first win in Canberra since Round 14 in the 2000 NRL season. In the Dragons last match of the season against the Newcastle Knights, Dugan was sinned binned for 10 minutes after he got into a physical altercation with Knights halfback Tyrone Roberts. He finished off the season with him playing in 18 matches and scoring 10 tries. At the end of the year, he was selected for the Australia Kangaroos Four Nations train on squad, but failed to play a game due to offseason surgery.

2015

On 21 January 2015, Dugan was named in the Dragons 2015 Auckland Nines squad. In Round 3 against his former club the Canberra Raiders, Dugan played his 100th NRL career match in the Dragons 22-20 win at Canberra Stadium. Dugan returned to his role of fullback for the entirety of the 2015 season. He earned a spot on the wing for Australia, in a losing effort against the New Zealand Kiwis in the annual ANZAC Test at Suncorp Stadium, as well as a recall to fullback for the New South Wales State of Origin team, filling the void left by NFL convert, Jarryd Hayne. He staved off competition from James Tedesco, Matt Moylan, Lachlan Coote and incumbent, long-time Blues winger Brett Morris for the fullback jersey. Midway through 2015, he was named Sportal's best fullback in the NRL. Dugan received the Red V Immortals' Trophy and prestigious New South Wales' Brad Fittler Medal for best performing New South Wales player in the 2015 State of Origin series. He was also nominated for Best Representative Player of 2015, despite losing both the State of Origin series and the ANZAC Test. Struggling with a persistent neck injury, Dugan required off-season surgery to eliminate the possibility of any long term problems. The surgery was a success.

2016

On 29 January, Dugan was named as the captain of the Dragons 2016 Auckland Nines squad. On 6 May 2016, Dugan played for Australia against New Zealand, playing at centre in the 16-0 win at Hunter Stadium.