Curtis Sironen (born 31 July 1993) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for St Helens in the Super League.
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Curtis James Sironen[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 31 July 1993 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 17 st 5 lb (110 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Second-row, Five-eighth, Loose forward | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As of 10 October 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Father | Paul Sironen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Bayley Sironen (brother) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
He previously played for the Wests Tigers and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League. He has also played at representative level for City Origin.
Early years
editSironen was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and is the son of Balmain Tigers legend Paul Sironen.
Sironen played his junior football with the Dundas Shamrocks.[4] A student at Holy Cross College Ryde, Sironen captained the NSW Combined Catholic Colleges to victory in the Australian Schoolboys tournament in 2011.[5] He represented New South Wales at an under-18 level, and played for the Australian Schoolboys side in 2011,[6] while playing for Wests Tigers NYC team. Undergoing shoulder surgery after completing his HSC, Sironen rejoined the NYC team in round 9.[7]
Playing career
edit2012
editWith Robert Lui leaving the club at the end of 2011, Sironen was considered a possible replacement for the Wests Tigers halfback, along with players Jacob Miller, Tim Moltzen and Tom Humble.[6] Moltzen started the season at halfback, but a number of players filled the position before Benji Marshall moved from five-eighth. Sironen was 18 years old when he made his debut from the bench against the North Queensland Cowboys midway through the 2012 NRL season.[7] The next week he made his first appearance in the starting side, playing at five-eighth and scoring a try. Coach Tim Sheens said of him, "I've been trying to hide him as long as I can. There's no doubt he's a first grader."[8] Sironen is the first son of a former Balmain or Wests player to get a run for Wests Tigers.[9]
Having established himself as the team five-eighth outside Benji Marshall, Sironen had played 6 games when he was injured. Coach Tim Sheens said, "Young Curtis will be out for the season and we're pretty sure he'll need another reconstruction. When you throw your arm out like he did and the guy's going in another direction, even with a good shoulder you can suffer a dislocation."[10] Despite playing just 6 games for the year, he was named the club's joint Rookie of the Year.[11]
2013
editReturning from injury in round 6 of 2013, Sironen was initially chosen in the halves. After only one game, Sironen was a late selection (after Josh Reynolds withdrew) to play for City in the annual City vs Country Origin match. He was the third least experienced player to ever appear in the match.[12] Later in the season, Braith Anasta was moved to five-eighth and Sironen played in the second-row. In the last 4 games of the year, Sironen scored a try in 3 games.
2014
editAfter an injury-hampered 2014, where he was limited to 13 games, Sironen underwent shoulder surgery in the off-season.[citation needed]
2015
editHe played in the first 11 rounds of 2015 before undergoing neck surgery. Returning to first grade in July, he made 19 appearances for the season. Mostly playing in the second row, he was on the field for a full 80 minutes in 15 games.[13] On 31 October 2015, Sironen needed to delete his Twitter account in the wake of a media story which arose that involved Sironen's former partner. According to reports, Sironen's ex-partner hacked into his Twitter account and posted a naked photo of him with another woman with the caption "I make excuses this is why my girlfriend who is tattooed on my arm left me". After the story was aired in the media Sironen tried to downplay the incident.[14]
2016
editSironen played the opening two games of the season in the second row, before missing three with injury. Soon after his return, he was chosen in the City side for the third time. Sironen said, "As someone who wants State of Origin honours in the future this is one of the stepping stones. Earlier this season I had a hamstring niggle. I've just been trying to get my body healthy and play for the Tigers, I'm just worrying about that before anything else. If I can put all the drama aside I'll be able to one day achieve the goals I've set myself."[15]
In November 2016, it was reported that Sironen would opt out of his contract so he could join the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles for 2 seasons starting in 2017.[16] In the wake of Sironen leaving the Wests Tigers, his father Paul slammed coach Jason Taylor in the media as he claimed that Taylor was leaving his son out of the first grade side on purpose. After Taylor was terminated, Paul Sironen said "He punted me then got rid of my young bloke last year, Well, karma's a bitch, Good riddance & don't let the door hit you on the way out!".[17]
2017
editOn 4 May 2017, Sironen was placed under investigation by The NRL for an incident involving his former partner and the woman he had an affair with at a Balmain pub. It was alleged that Sironen smashed the door of a women's toilet because his former partner was spending far too long in the woman's cubicle with the woman he was cheated with. Witnesses said they had seen Sironen leave bleeding heavily from his hand and he was photographed two days later at training with his hand wrapped in a bandage.[18][19] In the 2017 season, Sironen suffered a torn pectoral muscle in Round 14 and was ruled out for twelve weeks. He made it back for the last two games of the season – round 26 against the Penrith Panthers and then the elimination final, against the same opponents the following week.[20] At the end of the season Curtis played 15 games for the Manly club scoring six tries.[21]
2018
editIn the 2018 NRL season, Sironen only managed to feature in 4 games for Manly as he missed the majority of the year with a knee injury which required a reconstruction.[22][23]
2019
editIn Round 15 against the Gold Coast, Sironen scored 2 tries as Manly-Warringah won the match 30-12 at Cbus Super Stadium.[24]
Sironen made 22 appearances for Manly in the 2019 NRL season as the club finished 6th on the table and qualified for the finals. Sironen missed out on playing in the club's final series due a foot injury sustained in Manly's round 25 loss against Parramatta.[25][26][27]
2020
editSironen played 18 games for Manly-Warringah in the 2020 NRL season as they finished a disappointing 13th on the table.[28]
2021
editIt was announced in September 2021 that Sironen had signed a two-year deal with the reigning English Super League champions St Helens RLFC for the 2022 season.[citation needed]
2022
editIn round 1 of the 2022 Super League season, Sironen made his club debut for St Helens R.F.C. where they defeated Catalans Dragons 28-8.[29] On 24 September 2022, Sironen played in St Helens 24-12 Grand Final victory over Leeds.[30]
2023
editOn 18 February 2023, Sironen played in St Helens 13-12 upset victory over Penrith in the 2023 World Club Challenge.[31] In round 3 of the 2023 Super League season, Sironen was sent to the sin bin during St Helens 25-24 controversial loss against Leeds.[32] Sironen played 15 games for St Helens in the 2023 Super League season as the club finished third on the table. Sironen played in St Helens narrow loss against the Catalans Dragons in the semi-final which stopped them reaching a fifth successive grand final.[33]
2024
editSironen played 21 matches for St Helens in the 2024 Super League season which saw the club finish sixth on the table.[34]
Statistics
edit| Year | Teams | Games | Tries | Goals | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 |  Wests Tigers
|
6 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2013 | 19 | 3 | 3 | 18 | |
| 2014 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 10 | |
| 2015 | 19 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2016 | 8 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2017 |  Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
|
16 | 6 | 24 | |
| 2018 | 4 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 2019 | 22 | 5 | 20 | ||
| 2020 | 18 | 3 | 12 | ||
| 2021 | 6 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2022 |  St Helens
|
24 | 3 | 12 | |
| 2023 | 17 | 4 | 16 | ||
| 2024 | 20 | 3 | 12 | ||
| Totals | 193 | 35 | 4 | 148 |
References
edit- ^ Companies House
- ^ Curtis Sironen rugbyleagueproject.org
- ^ League Central
- ^ "Curtis Sironen". weststigers.com.au. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ Sam Spurr (28 August 2011). "Curtis follows in Dad's footsteps". The Catholic Weekly. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ a b Daniel Lane (11 December 2012). "Injury puts Sironen on back foot in race for No.7". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ a b Michael Chammas (28 May 2012). "Sheens ponders prospect of promoting Tigers' cub Sironen to key role". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 3 June 2012.[dead link]
- ^ Crystal Ja (3 June 2012). "Sironen secures No.6 for Tigers in NRL". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ Brad Walter (28 May 2012). "Five things we learnt from yesterday's game". The Courier. Retrieved 3 June 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Christian Nicolussi (25 July 2012). "Wests Tigers coach Wayne Cousins forced to reconfigure his backline thanks to heavy injury toll". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
- ^ Wayne Cousins (28 September 2012). "Aaron Woods named Player of the Year". weststigers.com.au. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
- ^ Josh Massoud (16 April 2013). "Wests Tigers' James Tedesco and Curtis Sironen promoted to City team". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
- ^ Alicia Newton and Dan Talintyre. "2015 Season Review: Curtis Sironen". weststigers.com.au. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- ^ "Wests Tigers star Curtis Sironen seemingly outed on Twitter for cheating". 31 October 2015.
- ^ Daniel Lane. "Curtis Sironen calls City Origin jumper a stepping stone to State of Origin dream". Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ Triple M. "7th Tackle Reports Curtis Sironen Will Sign With Manly Sea Eagles". Triple M.
- ^ "'Good riddance': Wests Tigers legend Paul Sironen delivers withering send-off to Jason Taylor". 21 March 2017.
- ^ "Manly Sea Eagles forward Curtis Sironen under NRL investigation over incident in Balmain pub".
- ^ "Sironen in trouble after weekend pub incident | League | Sporting News". Archived from the original on 24 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- ^ "Manly's Curtis Sironen out to match the feats of a club great". 13 December 2017.
- ^ "Curtis Sironen 2017 NRL Stats - Total Footy Stats".
- ^ "Manly Sea Eagles 2018 season review". 10 September 2018.
- ^ "Custom Match List - Rugby League Project".
- ^ "Parramatta beats Canberra 22-16, Manly beats Gold Coast 30-12, Newcastle beats Brisbane 26-12". ABC News. 29 June 2019.
- ^ "DCE still battling ankle injury as manly patch together team for home final". SMH. 13 September 2019.
- ^ "South Sydney Rabbitohs beat Manly Sea Eagles 34-26 in NRL semi-final". ABC News. 20 September 2019.
- ^ "Rabbitohs dig deep to eliminate Sea Eagles in finals thriller". NRL. 20 September 2019.
- ^ O'Loughlin, Liam (26 October 2020). "NRL 2020 Season Review: How will your side fare next year?". Sporting News. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020.
- ^ "St Helens beat Catalans in fiery season opener – talking points". www.loverugbyleague.com.
- ^ "St Helens sink Leeds to win record fourth consecutive Grand Final". www.theguardian.com.
- ^ "St Helens stun Penrith to win World Club Challenge". BBC Sport.
- ^ "Paul Wellens' view on major referee calls after St Helens' defeat to Leeds Rhinos". www.leeds-live.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
- ^ "Paul Wellens Q&A: Saints review of year and a look to 2024". www.sthelensstar.co.uk.
- ^ "'Soul destroying': Warrington eliminate St Helens in golden drop goal thriller". www.theguardian.com.
External links
edit
- Manly Sea Eagles profile
- NRL profile Archived 23 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine