Dylan Edwards (born 10 January 1996) is an Australian 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 plays as a for the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...

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 ...

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 ...

in State of Origin and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

at international level. He is regarded as one of the best defensive fullbacks in the game. Edwards made his NRL and Test debut as a er. Edwards played in the Panthers

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

and 2024 NRL premierships wins.

Background

Edwards was born in

Albury, New South Wales Albury (; ) is a major regional city that is located in the Murray River, Murray region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury–Wodonga, Albury-Wodonga and is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of ...

, Australia and moved to

Dorrigo, New South Wales Dorrigo, a small town on the Waterfall Way, is located on the Northern Tablelands, in northern New South Wales, Australia. The town is part of Bellingen local government area. It is approximately north of the state capital, Sydney via the ...

at a young age. He was educated at Dorrigo High School. He played his junior rugby league for the Albury Pumas (now Albury Thunder) and the Bellingen Dorrigo Magpies before being signed by the

in 2012.

Playing career

Early career

Edwards moved to

Penrith, New South Wales Penrith is a city in New South Wales, Australia, located in Greater Western Sydney, 55 kilometres (31 mi) west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Nepean River, on the outskirts of the Cumberland Plain. Its elevati ...

to play for Penrith's

S. G. Ball Cup The S. G. Ball Cup is a junior rugby league football competition played predominantly in New South Wales, between teams made up of male players aged under 19. Teams from Canberra and Melbourne, and Auckland also participate. Prior to the COVID ...

team in 2013. In 2015 and 2016, he was a member of Penrith's NYC team. On 4 October 2015, he played for the Penrith club in their 2015 NYC Grand Final win over the

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League seaso ...

. Edwards played 44 games, scored 20 tries and kicked 72 goals for 224 points in his U20s career from 2015 to 2016.

2016

On 10 February, he re-signed with the Penrith club on a two-year contract until the end of 2018. On 7 May, he played for the

Junior Kangaroos The Junior Kangaroos side represents Australia in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kangaroos, after the native marsupial of that name. Since 2019, they are an under-23 side, with players selected from the NRL. Th ...

against the

Junior Kiwis The Junior Kiwis side represents New Zealand in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. Since 2010, they are an under-20s side, with players selected from the NRL, Intrust Sup ...

. As a result of Penrith centre

Tyrone Peachey Tyrone Peachey (born 8 August 1991) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He previously played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Gold Coast Titans, Wests Tigers, and the Penrith Panthers in the NRL, winning the 2023 N ...

being dropped for disciplinary reasons, Edwards made his NRL debut for the Penrith against the

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the Sutherland Shire of Southern Sydney, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. Cronulla compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugb ...

on 10 July. In September, he was named on the interchange bench in the 2016 NYC Team of the Year.

2017

Edwards was named in the Penrith 2017 Auckland Nines squad. He played 14 games for Penrith 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, ...

and scored two tries for the Penrith club.

2018

In Round 8 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 ...

, Edwards suffered a season ending shoulder injury after a tackle in the 13th minute against Canterbury-Bankstown.

2019

dwards made a total of 20 appearances for Penrith 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 ...

as the club finished a disappointing 10th on the table and missed out on the finals for the first time since 2015.

2020

On 20 February, it was revealed that Edwards had suffered a

syndesmosis A syndesmosis (“fastened with a band”) is a type of fibrous joint in which two bones are united to each other by fibrous connective tissue. The gap between the bones may be narrow, with the bones joined by ligaments, or the gap may be wide a ...

tear in his right ankle following a training session. Edwards later had surgery and was ruled out for an indefinite period. He returned in round 6 against the

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm is a rugby league football club based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia that participates in the National Rugby League (NRL). The club plays its home games at AAMI Park, and wears a purple and navy blu ...

. Edwards played 14 games for Penrith as the club claimed the

Minor Premiership A minor premiership is the title given to the team which finishes a sporting competition first in the league standings after the regular season but prior to commencement of the finals in several Australian sports leagues. Origins The etymolo ...

and reached the

2020 NRL Grand Final The 2020 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2020 National Rugby League season held at Sydney's ANZ Stadium on October 25. The match was contested between minor premiers Penrith Panthers and second-placed Me ...

. Edwards played at fullback in the grand final which Penrith lost 26-20 to Melbourne.

2021

In round 19 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 ...

, Edwards kicked his first field goal against the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Red Hill, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos compete in the National Rugby League (NRL) and play their home games at ...

which was a two point field goal in Penrith's 18-12 victory. In round 22, Edwards scored two tries in a 34-16 victory over St. George Illawarra. Edwards played a total of 21 games for Penrith in the

including the club's 2021 NRL Grand Final victory over South Sydney.

2022

Edwards played 25 games for Penrith in the

2022 NRL season The 2022 NRL season was the 115th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 25th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 16th consecutive year. This became the second longest ...

and scored nine tries. Edwards played in Penrith's

2022 NRL Grand Final The 2022 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2022 National Rugby League season in Australia. It was contested between the Penrith Panthers and the Parramatta Eels on Sunday the 2nd of October at Accor Stad ...

victory over

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

and was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal as man of the match.

2023

In round 6 of the

2023 NRL season The 2023 NRL season was the 116th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 26th season run by the National Rugby League. The season consisted of 27 competition rounds, the longest in league history, followed by a finals series ...

, Edwards scored four tries in Penrith's 44-12 victory over Manly. He re-signed a long term deal to stay in Penrith, as the clubs star fullback In round 25, Edwards scored two tries for Penrith in their 40-14 victory over the Gold Coast. On 30 August, Edwards signed a four-year contract extension with Penrith worth $3.4 million. Edwards played 26 games for Penrith in the 2023 NRL season including the clubs 26-24 victory over Brisbane in the

2023 NRL Grand Final The 2023 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2023 National Rugby League season in Australia. It was contested between the Penrith Panthers and the Brisbane Broncos on Sunday the 1st of October at Stadium Aus ...

as Penrith won their third straight premiership.

2024

On 24 February, Edwards played in Penrith's 2024 World Club Challenge final loss against

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

. Edwards scored a try in the first half of the match. In round 5 of the

2024 NRL season The 2024 NRL season was the 117th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 27th season run by the National Rugby League (NRL). The season consisted of 27 competition rounds, followed by a finals series contested by the top eight ...

, Edwards scored two tries and kicked three goals in Penrith's 32-18 loss against Manly. On 26 May, Edwards was named at fullback for

for Game 1 of the 2024 State of Origin series replacing incumbent fullback

James Tedesco James Tedesco (born 8 January 1993), nicknamed "Teddy", is a professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays as a for the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League, NRL. A former Australia national rugby league team, Australia a ...

. On 1 June, it was announced that Edwards would miss the state of origin opener after picking up a quad injury at training. On 16 June, Edwards was selected by New South Wales for game two of the series after his return from injury, making his début in Game 2 in Melbourne on 25 June 2024. Edwards played a total of 20 games for Penrith in the 2024 NRL season including their 14-6 grand final victory over Melbourne.

Honours

Individual * Ben Alexander Rookie of The Year: 2017 * John Farragher Award: 2021 * Penrith Panthers Members Player of The Year: 2023 * Penrith Panthers Merv Cartwright Medal: 2022 * Clive Churchill Medal: 2022 Club * NRL Premiership: 2021, 2022, 2023 , 2024 * NRL Minor Premiership: 2020, 2022, 2023 State of Origin *State of Origin Winner: 2024

Statistics

Club

References

Notes

External links

Penrith Panthers profile

NRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Dylan 1996 births Living people Albury Thunder players Australian rugby league players Junior Kangaroos players New South Wales Residents rugby league team players New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Penrith Panthers players Penrith Panthers captains Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league wingers Rugby league players from Albury 21st-century Australian sportsmen Australia national rugby league team players