Jai Whitbread (born 16 January 1998) 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 and for

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers (often abbreviated to Hull KR) are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Craven Park, Hull, Craven Park and compete in Super League, the top tier of B ...

in the

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

. He has previously played 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 ...

Background

Whitbread was born in

Tugun, Queensland Tugun ( ) is a beach-side coastal Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Tugun had a population of 7,175 people. It borders New South Wales. Some locals refer to the suburb by the n ...

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 ...

and raised in

Tweed Heads, New South Wales Tweed Heads is a coastal city at the mouth of the Tweed River in the Northern Rivers region of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Tweed Heads is the northernmost town in New South Wales, and is located in the Tweed Shire local government ...

. He played his junior rugby league for the South Tweed Bears. He attended

Saint Joseph's College, Tweed Heads Saint Joseph's College (SJC) is an independent Roman Catholic co-educational secondary day school, located in Banora Point, near , the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1993, the college is administered by the Rom ...

and

The Southport School The Southport School (TSS) is an independent Anglican early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school for boys, located in Southport, a suburb on the Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia. Established in 1901 by the Revd Horac ...

before being signed by the

. He is the son of former

Canterbury 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 ...

and Gold Coast Giants/

Seagulls Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed ...

player, Greg Whitbread.

Playing career

Early career

In 2014, while a member of the Gold Coast Titans high performance squad, Whitbread represented the New South Wales Under-16 team. In 2016, he joined 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 ...

, playing for their Holden Cup (Under-20s) team and representing New South Wales Under-18s team.

2018

Whitbread began the season playing for the

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 the

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 ...

. In round 18 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 ...

, Whitbread made his

debut for the Gold Coast against 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 ...

. This would be Whitbread's only top grade appearance for the club in 2018. The Gold Coast would go on to finish in 14th position on the table at the end of the season.

2019

Whitbread made a total of 18 appearances for the Gold Coast 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 endured a horror year on and off the field. During the halfway mark of the season, head coach

Garth Brennan Garth Brennan (born 18 February 1972) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who was the head coach of the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL. He previously held coaching positions at the Newcastle Knights and the Penrith Panthers. ...

was sacked by the club after a string of poor results. The Gold Coast managed to win only four games for the entire season and finished last claiming the

Wooden Spoon A wooden spoon is a Kitchen utensil, utensil commonly used in food preparation. In addition to its culinary uses, wooden spoons also feature in folk art and culture. History The word ''spoon'' derives from an ancient word meaning a chip of woo ...

2020

Whitbread played nine games for the Gold Coast in the

2020 NRL season The 2020 NRL season was the 113th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 14th consecutive year. ; Notes : : : Pre-season ...

as the club finished ninth on the table and missed the finals.

2021

On 2 August 2021, it was reported that he had signed for

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

in the

. On 24 November 2021 it was reported that he had signed for

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home fixtures at the DIY Kitchen Stadium, Belle Vue (Wakefield), Belle Vue and currently compete in the Super League, the top tier o ...

in the

2023

Whitbread played 16 games for Wakefield Trinity in the

Super League XXVIII Super League XXVIII, known as the 2023 Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th season of the Super League and 129th season of rugby league in Great Britain. The season began on 16 February 2023, and ended with the Grand Final ...

season as the club finished bottom of the table and were relegated to the

RFL Championship The Rugby Football League Championship, (known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second highest division of rugby league in British rugby league system, Britain (with one team in the league also being based in France) ...

which ended their 24-year stay in the top flight. On 3 October 2023 it was reported that he had signed for

Hull KR Hull Kingston Rovers (often abbreviated to Hull KR) are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Craven Park, Hull, Craven Park and compete in Super League, the top tier of B ...

following the relegation of

2024

Whitbread made his club debut for Hull Kingston Rovers against arch-rivals

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Hull play their home games at the MKM Stadium and compete in Super League, the ...

in round 1 of the 2024 Super League season. Hull Kingston Rovers would win the match 22-0. On 12 October, Whitbread played in Hull Kingston Rovers

2024 Super League Grand Final The 2024 Super League Grand Final, Naming rights, named the 2024 Betfred Super League Grand Final for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th official Super League Grand Final and the championship-deciding rugby league game of the 2024 Super League se ...

loss against Wigan.

2025

In round 3 of the 2025 Super League season, Whitbread scored two tries for Hull Kingston Rovers in their 42-0 win over Salford. On 7 June, Whitbread played in Hull Kingston Rovers 8-6 Challenge Cup final victory over Warrington. It was the clubs first major trophy in 40 years.

References

External links

Gold Coast Titans profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitbread, Jai 1998 births Living people Australian expatriate rugby league players in England Australian rugby league players Gold Coast Titans players Hull Kingston Rovers players Leigh Leopards players Rugby league players from Tweed Heads, New South Wales People educated at the Southport School Rugby league players from the Gold Coast, Queensland Rugby league props Wakefield Trinity players 21st-century Australian sportsmen