Quick Facts
Biography
Trent Merrin (born 7 October 1989) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League. He primarily plays as a lock, second-row and prop and has previously played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons, winning the 2010 NRL Grand Final with them..
Playing career
Merrin grew up playing rugby league with the Shellharbour Sharks. Merrin claims another Shellharbour legend, Australian representative Luke Bailey, was "one of [his] idols growing up".
In 2008, Merrin played for the Dragons under-20s team in the Toyota Cup, scoring two tries for the season. He was selected as the Dragons' Toyota Cup Player of the Year in 2008. In 2009 he was selected to play first grade for the Dragons, being chosen on the interchange bench. He did not manage a single minute in the match which the Dragons won 25-12.
He was a prominent squad member of the 2010 premiership-winning Dragons team, and came from the bench to play in 2010 NRL Grand Final's final minutes. In May 2011, he was selected on the bench for New South Wales for game 1 of the 2011 State of Origin series. He was selected for the second match but was then dropped for the third. On 2 March 2015, Merrin signed a 3-year contract with the Penrith Panthers, starting in 2016.
On 15 September 2015, it was announced that Merrin would captain a representative team for the first time. On 26 September 2015, he led the Prime Minister's XIII in their 2015 clash with Papua New Guinea.
He is currently engaged to world class surfer Sally Fitzgibbons.