Josh Mansour
Quick Facts
Biography
Josh Mansour (Arabic: جوش منصور; born 17 June 1990) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Penrith Panthers of the National Rugby League. Mansour's position of choice is at Wing. Mansour is an Australian and Lebanese national, New South Wales State of Origin, Prime Minister's XIII and City Origin representative.
Early years
Born in Sydney, New South Wales, Mansour is of Lebanese, Portuguese and Cuban descent and played his junior rugby league for St Johns Eagles and Kingsgrove Colts. He was signed up by the South Sydney Rabbitohs and played in their NYC team in 2008-2010. Mansour was selected in 2010 for Winger of the Year NYC and was chosen as the NYC Player of the Year at the Rabbitohs. He played Junior Kangaroos in 2010 against the Junior Kiwis and played for Lebanon in the 2009 European Cup. Mansour graduated to South Sydney's full-time training squad in 2011 but did not play in a match.
Playing career
2012
In Round 9, Mansour made his NRL debut for the Panthers at Penrith Stadium on the wing in the 44-10 loss against the Melbourne Storm despite scoring a try on debut. He was named the Panthers Rookie of the Year after playing in 14 matches and scoring 7 tries in his debut year.
2013
On 5 March, Mansour extended his contract with the club to the end of the 2014 season. In Round 23 against the New Zealand Warriors, Mansour scored a spectacular put down of the ball just before going into the in goal in the 28-24 win at Mt Smart Stadium. Mansour played in 14 matches and scored 4 tries in 2013.
2014
In February, Mansour played in the Panthers inaugural Auckland Nines squad. On 3 June, he re-signed, keeping him at the Panthers until the end of the 2016 season after declining a lucrative offer from the Canberra Raiders. Mansour finished the season as the Panthers highest tryscorer with 15 tries in 22 matches.
On 12 October, Mansour played on the wing and scored a try for Prime Minister's XIII in the 34-16 win over Papua New Guinea. He made his Australian international debut against New Zealand Kiwis on 25 October in the Four Nations where the Kiwis won 30-12 at Suncorp Stadium. Mansour scored his first try in the Green and Gold of Australia against Samoa in Australia's 44-18 victory at WIN Stadium, and played in the 22-18 Four Nations Final loss against New Zealand.
2015
Mansour scored 6 tries from 12 games in 2015. He was named in the Lebanon 48-man train-on squad ahead of two 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifiers against South Africa, however he didn't take part in either match.
2016
Mansour played in the pre-season Auckland Nines. On 8 May, he played for City, where he scored a try in the 44-30 win in Tamworth.
On 1 June, Mansour made his State of Origin debut for the NSW Blues in the first game of the series. Soon after the 2nd match, Mansour re-signed with the Panthers until the end of the 2018 season.