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Jake Webster
Personal information
Full nameJake Ngapera Webster[1]
Born (1983-10-29) 29 October 1983 (age 41)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Height6 ft 0 in (1.82 m)
Weight14 st 13 lb (95 kg) [2]
Playing information
PositionCentre, Wing, Second-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2003–06 Melbourne Storm 49 28 0 0 112
2007 Gold Coast Titans 18 4 0 0 16
2008–12 Hull Kingston Rovers 105 41 7 0 178
2013–18 Castleford Tigers 125 49 0 0 196
2014(DRTooltip Super League#Dual registration) → York City Knights 1 0 0 0 0
2019 Bradford Bulls 25 12 0 0 48
2020–24 Keighley Cougars 28 17 0 0 68
Total 351 151 7 0 618
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2005–07 New Zealand 8 5 0 0 20
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
2024– Keighley Cougars 9 5 0 4 56
Source: [3]
As of 6 Oct 2024

Jake Ngapera Webster (born 29 October 1983) is a former New Zealand international rugby league footballer who last played as a centre for the Keighley Cougars in Betfred League 1, and is interim head-coach of Keighley Cougars following the sacking of Australian Matt Foster.[4]

He previously played as a centre and winger for the Melbourne Storm and Gold Coast Titans in the NRL, and as a centre and second-row forward for the Castleford Tigers and Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super League. Webster also played for the Bradford Bulls in the Championship.[3]

Early life

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Webster was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He is the son of a New Zealand Māori father, Steven and Greek mother, Madeline,[5] spent the early years of his life in Moonee Ponds before moving to Brisbane, Queensland with his father. When in Brisbane, Webster was educated at Wavell State High School.[citation needed]

He began his rugby league career as an eight-year-old with the Valleys rugby league club and remained with the club through to under-18s. In 2001, Webster was selected in the Queensland under-19s side and was offered a Storm contract soon after.[citation needed]

Playing career

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National Rugby League

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Webster was the first Melbourne-born player to play with the Melbourne Storm, making his debut for the club in round 2 of the 2003 NRL season.[6] It would be Webster's only appearance in the NRL that year after he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament the following week playing for Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup.[7]

Returning to the field in 2004, Webster would score a hat-trick in his third NRL appearance in a 50–4 win for Melbourne against South Sydney.[8][9] Webster had limited opportunities in the 2004 season, mostly playing for Melbourne's feeder club Norths Devils.

In 2005, Webster was a regular member of the Storm squad,[10] making 24 appearances and scoring 10 tries, including the first try in the qualifying final against the Brisbane Broncos.[11]

At the end of the 2005 NRL season, Webster made his international debut for New Zealand in the 2005 Tri-Nations tournament. He would finish level on top of the scoring table with five tries in five appearances for the Kiwis,[3] playing on the wing as New Zealand won the final 24–0 against Australia.[12]

In round 16 of the 2006 NRL season, he scored a memorable last minute try against Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in what was called one of the greatest games of that season.[13][14] A few weeks later, Webster would score four tries against the Wests Tigers to equal the club's then record for individual tries in a match.[15]

Webster wasn't able to maintain his spot in the Storm squad as the season progressed, not making the Melbourne team that would play in the 2006 NRL Grand Final.[16] He would make 49 appearances for the Storm, scoring 28 tries.[3] Due to surgery on a shoulder injury, Webster was forced to withdraw for selection for New Zealand ahead of the 2006 Tri-Nations.[16]

Offered a contract by the expansion Gold Coast Titans,[17][18] Webster signed in 2006 to become a part of the club's inaugural 2007 season, scoring a try in the club's first match in round 1. He was selected to play for the New Zealand national team on the wing in the 2007 ANZAC Test loss against Australia.[19]

Webster agreed a deal to join English Super League side Hull Kingston Rovers on 30 August 2007[20] for a reported three year £100,000 per year contract after being released by the Titans.[21] He had made 18 appearances for the Titans in their first season, scoring four tries.[3]

Super League

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Webster made his Super League début in a 20–12 defeat by Leeds Rhinos in which he scored a brace and Hull Kingston Rovers' only tries. He would make a good start to the 2010 season filling in for Paul Cooke at stand off and scoring a try in the opening fixture against Salford City Reds.

On 26 June, Webster signed for Castleford Tigers on a three-year deal, starting in 2013.[22]

In March 2014, after missing rugby league action for nearly 12 months out with injury, Webster was given game time to play for the York City Knights in the League 1 competition.[23] Later in 2014, Webster helped Castleford reach their first Challenge Cup Final since 1992. He was a key player in the squad that achieved this, and scored a try against Widnes in the Semi-Final.[24] He played in the 2014 Challenge Cup Final defeat by the Leeds Rhinos at Wembley Stadium.[25]

Webster scored four tries against Wakefield Trinity in August 2017 to seal Castleford's place at the top of Super League, helping the club achieve their first ever top-flight league title.[26] He also played for the Tigers in the Grand Final in the same season.[27][28][29][30]

Webster's departure from Castleford was announced in August 2018.[31] Throughout his time with the club, Webster was regarded as a fans' favourite, stating "The biggest memory from my time here at Castleford will be the fans in the stands."[31]

Lower leagues

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In August 2018, Webster signed for Bradford Bulls on a two-year deal.[32] At the end of the 2019 season and having scored 11 tries in 25 appearances for the Bulls, Webster left the club part way through his contract to join League 1 neighbours Keighley Cougars on a two-year deal.[33]

Webster signed a new contract with Keighley in September 2022 which came after his appointment as a commercial executive of the club. The contract saw him remain as a member of the playing squad while also transitioning to a coaching role.[34] He would announce his effective retirement from playing at the end of the 2023 season due to troublesome knee injuries.[35]

12 months after a cancelled testimonial match, Webster made one final appearance for Keighley in a preseason testimonial match against Castleford in January 2024. Webster retired from rugby league to focus on his off-field role as director of rugby at the club.[35][36][37]

References

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  1. ^ "Webster, Jake Ngapera 2005 - 2007". Archived from the original on 23 April 2012.
  2. ^ "Castleford Tigers 1st Team Jake Webster". Official Castleford Tigers web site. Castleford Tigers. 2015. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Keighley Cougars allege sacked coach refused player signings in extraordinary statement". Love Rugby League. 10 July 2024.
  5. ^ "League: Jake, the Aussie who's playing for the Kiwis". New Zealand Herald. 13 October 2005.
  6. ^ de Kroo, Karl (22 March 2003). "Local teen steps into eye of Storm". Herald-Sun. Melbourne, Victoria: Nationwide News Pty Ltd. p. 77.
  7. ^ de Kroo, Karl (1 April 2003). "Storm injury hell". Herald-Sun. Melbourne, Victoria: Nationwide News Pty Ltd. p. 56.
  8. ^ "Storm rout Rabbitohs". abc.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 17 April 2004. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  9. ^ de Kroo, Karl (19 April 2004). "Melbourne-born rookie calls left wing home - Jake pegs spot". Herald-Sun. Melbourne, Victoria: Nationwide News Pty Ltd. p. 59.
  10. ^ de Kroo, Karl (16 August 2005). "Filling the void - Geyer rates Webster as Storm's new Bai". Herald-Sun. Melbourne, Victoria: Nationwide News Pty Ltd. p. 70.
  11. ^ Donaghy, Dave (10 September 2005). "Storm overcomes injuries to beat Broncos". Australian Associated Press Pty Limited. AAP Sports News Wire.
  12. ^ "Kiwis crush Kangaroos in Tri-Nations final". Australia: ABC News. Agence France-Presse. 27 November 2005. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  13. ^ "The Great Escape". The world of Rugby League. 23 June 2006. Archived from the original on 27 January 2013.
  14. ^ Gabor, Martin (23 June 2016). "The night that sparked the perfect Storm". NRL.com. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  15. ^ Epstein, Jackie (6 August 2006). "Jake makes a statement". Herald-Sun. Melbourne, Victoria: Nationwide News Pty Ltd. p. 70.
  16. ^ a b Read, Brent (29 September 2006). "Webster's agony at being odd man out". The Australian. Canberra, Australia. p. 35.
  17. ^ "Titans sign 17th player as Webster exits Storm". Townsville Bulletin. Townsville, Queensland: Nationwide News Pty Ltd. 1 July 2006. p. 117.
  18. ^ Clark, Laine (2 July 2006). "Gold Coast finally lure Webster into the family". Sun-Herald. Sydney, New South Wales: Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited. p. 90.
  19. ^ "Anzac Test Match 2007". rugbyleagueproject.org. Shawn Dollin, Andrew Ferguson and Bill Bates. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  20. ^ "Webster Wings In". Sporting Life. 29 August 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  21. ^ "Hull KR strengthen relegation fight with Kiwi winger Webster". The Independent. London, United Kingdom. 31 August 2007.
  22. ^ "Castleford Tigers". Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  23. ^ "Webster To Play For York On Sunday". Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  24. ^ "Challenge Cup: Widnes Vikings 6-28 Castleford Tigers". 10 August 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  25. ^ "Leeds lift Challenge Cup after Ryan Hall's double stuns Castleford". Guardian. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  26. ^ "Super 8s: Castleford Tigers 45-20 Wakefield Trinity". 7 August 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  27. ^ "Grand Final 2017: Castleford 6-24 Leeds Rhinos". 7 October 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  28. ^ "Castleford 6-24 Leeds: Grand Final 2017 – as it happened". Guardian. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  29. ^ "Grand Final 2017: Castleford 6-24 Leeds Rhinos". BBC Sport. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  30. ^ "Danny McGuire guides Leeds to Grand Final success over Castleford". Guardian. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  31. ^ a b "Webster Set To Depart The Tigers". Castleford Tigers. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  32. ^ "Bradford Bulls sign Castleford centre Jake Webster". Telegraph and Argus. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  33. ^ "Jake Webster departs Bradford for Keighley". Total RL. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  34. ^ "JAKE WEBSTER TO STAY WITH THE PRIDE". keighleycougars.uk. 15 September 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  35. ^ a b Walker, Callum (15 January 2024). "Ex-Super League state Jake Webster details the knee problems left by rugby league as he gives verdict on new role at Keighley Cougars". Total Rugby League. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  36. ^ O'Brien, James (12 January 2024). "'It means a lot': Jake Webster ready for one last hurrah against beloved Castleford Tigers". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  37. ^ "Keighley Cougars lose to strong Castleford Tigers side". Keighley News. 16 January 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
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