Euan Aitken (born 16 June 1995) is a

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

international

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 er or for the

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club, also known as the South Sydney Rabbitohs, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra, New South Wales, Maroubra that competes in the Nat ...

in the

National Rugby League 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 ...

(NRL). He previously played for the

Dolphins A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

, the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the

New Zealand Warriors The Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as the Aucklan ...

in the

, and the Australian

Prime Minister's XIII Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PM's XIII, a representative rugby league team, comprising Australian players from National Rugby League clubs that did not qualify for the NRL Finals, or whose teams were knocked ...

and

Country New South Wales rugby league team The Country New South Wales rugby league team is a representative 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 ...

at representative level.

Background

Aitken was born in

Pambula, New South Wales Pambula is a town in Bega Valley Shire on the far south coast of New South Wales, Australia south of Sydney via the Princes Highway. At the , Pambula had a population of 970 people. History The area was populated by the Thaua Aboriginal people ...

, Australia. He is of

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

descent through his paternal grandfather, Andrew, Latvian descent through his paternal grandmother, Regina, and

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

descent through his paternal grandmother's mother. He played his junior rugby league for the

Merimbula-Pambula Bulldogs Merimbula-Pambula Rugby League Football Club is an Australian rugby league football club based in New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Austra ...

and Shellharbour Sharks. He was then signed by the St. George Illawarra Dragons.

Playing career

Early career

In 2013 and 2014, Aitken played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons' NYC team. In September and October 2013, he played for the Australian Schoolboys. On 28 April 2014, he was named to play for the

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 ...

under-20s team to play

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 ...

, but had to pull out due to injury. On 18 October 2014, 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 ...

. At the end of 2014, he was named the Dragons' NYC Player of the Year. In 2015, he moved on to the Dragons'

New South Wales Cup The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve ...

team,

Illawarra Cutters The Illawarra Rugby League Football Club was an Australian rugby league football club based in Illawarra formed in 2012. Originally known as the Illawarra Cutters, they became known as the Illawarra RLFC before the 2017 Intrust Super Premiership ...

St. George Illawarra (2015 - 2020)

On 31 January and 1 February, Aitken played for the Dragons in the

2015 NRL Auckland Nines The 2015 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the second NRL Auckland Nines tournament, contested between all sixteen teams of the National Rugby League. The draw was released on 16 September 20 ...

. In Round 3 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 followe ...

, he made his

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 ...

début for the Dragons against the

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugb ...

, playing at centre in the Dragons' 22–20 win at

Canberra Stadium Canberra Stadium, commercially known as GIO Stadium Canberra, is a facility primarily used for rugby league and rugby union games, located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is the largest sp ...

. On 23 March, he re-signed with the Dragons on a two-year contract. In Round 6 against the

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilitated by ...

, he scored his first NRL career try in the Dragons' 31–6 win at

ANZ Stadium Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the suburb of Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The stadium, which is sometimes referred to as Sydney Ol ...

. He finished off his début year in the NRL having played in 23 matches and scoring six tries for the Dragons. On 26 September, he played for the

against

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

, playing off the interchange bench and scoring a try in his team's 40-12 win at

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

. In February 2016, Aitken played for the Dragons in the

2016 NRL Auckland Nines The 2016 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Downer NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the third NRL Auckland Nines competition. It was held on 6–7 February 2016 at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. As with previous tournaments, it wa ...

. On 8 May, he played for New South Wales Country against New South Wales City, where he played at centre and scored a try. In Round 10 against the Canberra Raiders, he scored a try off a wayward pass from

Jack Wighton Jack Wighton (born 4 February 1993) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the National Rugby League (NRL) and for the Indigenous All-Stars (rugby league), Indigenous All Stars. ...

, just on the halfway siren in golden-point extra-time to win the match for the Dragons 16–12. In 2017, Aitken was forced to miss Scotland's 2017 World Cup campaign due to injury. Aitken made 23 appearances during the 2018 season, and scored 10 tries for St George as the club finished 7th on the table at the end of the regular season. St George had led the competition after 16 rounds before losing 6 of their last 9 games which was reminiscent to their 2017 season. Aitken missed out on playing in the club's finals campaign which saw them upset 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 ...

in week one of the finals before being eliminated the following week by South Sydney 13-12. In Round 21 of 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 ...

, Aitken made his 100th first grade appearance and scored a try as St George defeated the Gold Coast 40-28 at

Kogarah Oval Jubilee Stadium (also known as Kogarah Oval) is a multi-purpose stadium in Carlton, a suburb in Sydney, Australia. The stadium is mainly used for rugby league and the A-League, and is one of the home grounds of the National Rugby League (NRL) ...

. On 11 August 2020, Aitken signed a three-year deal to join the

starting in 2021.

New Zealand Warriors (2021 - 2022)

Aitken made his debut for New Zealand in round 1 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 ...

against the Gold Coast at

Central Coast Stadium Central Coast Stadium is a sports venue in Gosford, on the Central Coast, New South Wales, Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. From the establishment of the first venue at the site in 1915 it was known as Waterside Park, being renam ...

. In the same match, Aitken picked up an ankle injury and was ruled out for four months. In round 12 against

North Queensland North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its Tropical North Queensland, trop ...

, Aitken scored two tries in a 29-28 defeat. In round 20, he scored two tries for New Zealand in a 18-16 victory over the

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers is an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West of Sydney and South Western Sydney. The Tigers have competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since being formed at the end of the 1999 N ...

. In March 2022, it was revealed that Aitken would be granted a release from his Warriors contract at the end of 2022, Aitken stating that he needs to remain living in Australia for family reasons. He later signed a two-year deal with the

, an upcoming club in 2023. Aitken made a total of 21 appearances for the New Zealand club as they finished 15th on the table.

Dolphins (2023 -2024)

In round 1 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 ...

, Aitken made his club debut for the

in their inaugural game in the national competition, as the new club pulled off a major upset defeating the

Sydney Roosters Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...

28-18 at

Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), currently known as Suncorp Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Milton, Queensland, Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Nicknamed The Cauldron, it is a three-tiered rect ...

. In round 7, he scored a try in the Dolphins 14-36 loss to the

at Suncorp Stadium. In round 8, Aitken scored a try in the Dolphins 28-26 victory over 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 ...

at Suncorp Stadium., In Round 9, Aitken scored a try in the Dolphins 30-31 loss to the

at McDonalds Park,

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, m ...

. In September, the Dolphins' Inaugural Presentation Ball was held at Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, and Aitken received the club's annual Academic Award for continued study in an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

. In July 2024, Aitken was ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a pectoral injury in round 19.

South Sydney Rabbitohs (2025 - )

On 12 August 2024, Aitken signed a three-year deal with the

. On 22 December, he was ruled out for the first month of the 2025 season due to further pectoral surgery and did not play until round 6.

Personal life

Aitken married Kirsty Costello in November 2022. Their daughter was born on 26 September 2023.

Statistics

References

External links

Dolphins profileNRL profileScotland profileScotland RL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aitken, Euan 1995 births Living people Australian rugby league players Australian people of Scottish descent Australian people of Polish descent Australian people of Latvian descent Scotland national rugby league team players St. George Illawarra Dragons players New Zealand Warriors players Dolphins (NRL) players Prime Minister's XIII players Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players Junior Kangaroos players Illawarra Cutters players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from New South Wales Rugby league second-rows Sportspeople from the South Coast (New South Wales) 21st-century Australian sportsmen