Anthony Don (born 21 September 1987) is an Australian former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played on the for the

Gold Coast Titans The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership, Australia's elite rugby league competition. Since 2008, the ...

in the

NRL The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

. He played for Country NSW in 2017.

Background

Don was born in Manly, New South Wales, Australia. He played his junior football for the Grafton Ghosts before being signed by the

on a two-year contract starting in 2013.

Playing career

He played for the Titans'

Queensland Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league, rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League, Queensland Rugby ...

team,

Burleigh Bears The Burleigh Bears are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Gold Coast, Australia. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. Since their admission to the competition in 1997, the ...

in 2013. In round six 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 sixt ...

, Don made his

debut for the Gold Coast against the

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and ...

. He finished his debut year playing 13 games and scoring seven tries for the Gold Coast as the club finished 9th on the table. On 13 June 2014, Don re-signed with the Gold Coast on a two-year contract. He finished the

2014 NRL season The 2014 NRL season was the 107th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 17th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand, for the Auckland Nines, replacing the Rugby Leagu ...

as the Gold Coast's top try scorer despite only playing 15 games. In the

2017 NRL season The 2017 NRL season was the 110th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 20th season run by the National Rugby League. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, and was followed by the All Stars Match, ...

, Don finished as the Gold Coast's top try scorer with 12 tries. The club suffered greatly on and off the field in 2017 as they finished 15th on the table. In round 15 of the

2018 NRL season The 2018 NRL season was the 111th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 21st season run by the National Rugby League. The main competition, known as the 2018 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra, featured 16 team ...

, Don played his 100th NRL games in the Titans' 32–10 win at

Belmore Sports Ground Belmore Sports Ground, formerly known as Belmore Oval, is a multi-purpose stadium in Belmore, New South Wales, Australia. The park covers and from 1951 has contained the Belmore Bowling Recreation Club green. It is close to Belmore railway ...

, scoring a try. Don finished as the club's top try scorer in the 2018 season as the Gold Coast finished 14th on the table. In the

2019 NRL season The 2019 NRL season was the 112th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 22nd season run by the National Rugby League. The Sydney Roosters became the first team to win back-to-back Premierships since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992 ...

Don, became the Gold Coast's all-time leading try scorer surpassing David Mead. Don played 17 games for the Gold Coast and scored eight tries as the club endured a horror year on and off the field finishing last. On 10 August 2021, Don announced his retirement from rugby league at the end of the

2021 NRL season The 2021 NRL season was the 114th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 15th consecutive year. Regular season Ladd ...

Representative career

Don has played in the Australian Universities Tour, playing in England, South Africa and France.

Personal life

Don is the grandson of

Ron Willey Ronald William Willey (1929−2004) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He was a representative for the Australian national side. Post-playing, Willey had a long and successful first grade and State representative coaching car ...

, a 1950s representative who coached Manly Warringah to premiership success in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

and

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

, before going onto a successful stint as

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

State of Origin coach. Willey was the first Origin coach to win a series 3-0 when he led NSW to victory over

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

in the

1986 State of Origin series The 1986 State of Origin series was the fifth year that the annual State of Origin series, three-match series between New South Wales state rugby league team, New South Wales and Queensland state rugby league team, Queensland was contested entire ...

. He is married to former lifesaver Samantha Don & has 1 Daughter.

References

External links

Gold Coast Titans profileTitans profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Don, Anthony 1987 births Living people Burleigh Bears players Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players Gold Coast Titans players Rugby league wingers Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Sydney People from Manly, New South Wales