Joshua Drinkwater (born 15 June 1992) is an Australian professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who plays as a or for the Warrington Wolves in the Betfred Super League. He has previously played for the

St. George Illawarra Dragons The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint-ve ...

and the Wests Tigers in the

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

. He has also played for the

London Broncos The London Broncos are a professional rugby league club in London, England. The club competes in the RFL Championship. It was a member of Super League from its inaugural season in 1996 until the end of the 2014 season, when they were relegat ...

Leigh Centurions The Leigh Leopards are a professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England, who compete in the Betfred Super League. The club was founded in 1878, and is one of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern R ...

, Catalans Dragons and Hull Kingston Rovers in the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

. Drinkwater won the

2018 Challenge Cup The 2018 Challenge Cup, also known as the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 117th staging of the Challenge Cup, the main rugby league knockout tournament for teams in the Super League, the British National Leagues and a numb ...

with Catalans.

Background

Drinkwater was born in

Sydney, New South Wales Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...

, Australia, and is of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

descent. He is the

brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

of fellow

footballer,

Scott Drinkwater Scott Drinkwater (born 15 May 1997) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL). He previously played for the Melbourne Storm in the NRL. He has also ...

who plays for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League. Drinkwater played his junior football for the Terrigal Sharks, before being signed by the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.

National Youth Competition

From 2010 to 2012, Drinkwater played for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles' National Youth Competition (NYC) team. He was Manly's NYC top point-scorer in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, with 137 points from 10 tries, 48 goals and 1 field goal. On 4 September 2012, he signed a two-year contract with the

starting in 2013, where he was seen as a “''possible saviour to a club reeling in the post- Wayne Bennett era.''”

St. George Illawarra Dragons (2013)

In round 5 of the

2013 NRL season The 2013 NRL season was the 106th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia. The National Rugby League's main competition, named the 2013 Telstra Premiership after major sponsors Telstra Corporation, was contested by sixte ...

, Drinkwater made his National Rugby League début for the

against the Newcastle Knights. He finished off his début year in the

having only played in four games.

London Broncos

In February 2014, Drinkwater joined the

effective immediately for the rest of the season in a straight swap for

Michael Witt Michael Witt (born 1 January 1984) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in Australasia's National Rugby League (NRL) competition for the Parramatta Eels, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the New Zealand Warriors ...

, after being released from the final year of his

St. George Illawarra The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint-ve ...

contract. He scored 136 points for the

, but the club managed just one victory for the entire

season.

Wests Tigers

On 5 November 2014, he signed a two-year contract with the Wests Tigers, commencing in 2015. Drinkwater was initially signed as a back-up for halves

Mitchell Moses Mitchell Moses (Arabic: ميتشل موسى; born 16 September 1994) is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. He also plays for the Lebanon national team. He previously played for the Wests ...

and

Luke Brooks Luke Brooks (born 21 December 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League (NRL) in 2024. He previously played for the Wests Tigers in the Nationa ...

. Drinkwater commented on the situation saying, ''"I know I'm behind those boys, Jason Taylor told me straight away that "Mitch" and "Brooksy" were going to start the year in the first-grade team. I just want to come here, play good footy and if something happens and Jason Taylor calls my name, I've got to take my opportunity".'' In round 17 of the

2015 NRL season The 2015 NRL season was the 108th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 18th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, which was followed ...

, Drinkwater made his Tigers' début against the Parramatta Eels.

Leigh Centurions

On 17 May 2016, he was released from his contract at the Wests Tigers to take up an opportunity with the

in the Championship. Drinkwater subsequently went onto help his new club gain promotion in 2016, back to the top-flight of English

. Drinkwater left the

after a two-year stay at the club, following relegation from the

via the

Million Pound Game Million Pound Game (stylized as £1M Game) was an annual playoff final rugby league game that decides which Championship team will be promoted to Super League the following season. Between 2015 and 2018, the game was played as part of The Qualif ...

in a loss to the Catalans Dragons at the end of the 2017 season.

Western Suburbs Magpies

Drinkwater joined Intrust Super Premiership NSW side the Western Suburbs Magpies for the 2018 season.

Catalans Dragons

On 24 April 2018, Drinkwater signed a one-year deal to join the Catalans Dragons. On 25 August 2018, Drinkwater was part of the Dragons' historic

Final triumph over the Warrington Wolves. Securing the clubs first-ever piece of silverware, Drinkwater who started the game at went onto kick four goals (8 points), subsequently helping the

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

based side secure a 20–14 victory.

Hull Kingston Rovers

On 23 December 2018, it was revealed that he had signed a one-year deal to play for Hull Kingston Rovers in the

. On 9 January 2019, Drinkwater received the number 24 jersey ahead of the start of the

season. On 13 January 2019, Drinkwater made his non-competitive Hull Kingston Rovers' début in a pre-season friendly against the Widnes Vikings, Drinkwater claimed a 30–16 victory with his new club. Drinkwater made his first competitive appearance for Hull Kingston Rovers in round 1 of the 2019

season, Drinkwater who added 6 points with the boot recorded a thrilling 18–16 victory over cross-city rivals

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...

at Craven Park. Drinkwater also subsequently picked up the

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

' 'Man of the Match Award.' Drinkwater played his 100th career game on 10 March 2019, in a 6–10 victory over

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the c ...

at Belle Vue. On 4 April 2019, Drinkwater opened his try scoring account for Hull Kingston Rovers in a 45-26

home victory over the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headi ...

. Drinkwater scored a brace of tries on 31 May 2019, in Hull Kingston Rovers' 22-28

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

Quarter Final defeat by the Warrington Wolves.

Catalans Dragons (rejoin)

On 31 October 2019, it was announced that Drinkwater was re-joining Catalans Dragons. On 9 October 2021, Drinkwater played for Catalans in their

2021 Super League Grand Final The 2021 Super League Grand Final was the 24th official Grand Final and championship-deciding game of Super League XXVI. The game was contested between Catalans Dragons and St Helens at Old Trafford. Background The two finalists finished first ...

defeat against St. Helens.

Warrington Wolves

On 23 November 2022, Drinkwater signed a two-year deal to join

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

. Drinkwater played 24 games for Warrington in the 2023 Super League season as Warrington finished sixth on the table and qualified for the playoffs. Drinkwater played in the clubs elimination playoff loss against St Helens.

Honours

Career Awards and Accolades

Club (Catalans Dragons 2018)

(1):

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

References

External links

Hull KR profileLeigh Centurions profileSL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drinkwater, Josh 1992 births Living people Australian people of German descent Australian rugby league players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Catalans Dragons players Hull Kingston Rovers players Illawarra Cutters players Indigenous Australian rugby league players Leigh Leopards players London Broncos players New South Wales Residents rugby league team players Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Sydney St. George Illawarra Dragons players Warrington Wolves players Western Suburbs Magpies NSW Cup players Wests Tigers NSW Cup players Wests Tigers players