Joshua Drinkwater (born 15 June 1992) 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 or for

Oldham RLFC Oldham Rugby League Football Club, is a professional rugby league football club based in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. The club plays home games at Boundary Park and competes in Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. O ...

in 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) ...

. He has previously played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons and 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 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 has also played for the

London Broncos The London Broncos are a professional rugby league club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, England. They play their home games at Plough Lane and currently compete in the RFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of British rugby le ...

Leigh Centurions The Leigh Leopards are a professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England. Leigh play homes games at Leigh Sports Village and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. ...

Catalans Dragons The Catalans Dragons (French language, French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan language, Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. Despite being based in France the ...

and

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 ...

. 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 num ...

with

Catalans Catalans ( Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; ; ; or ) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citizens of Catalonia, a nationality and autono ...

Background

Drinkwater was born in

Sydney, New South Wales Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia, and is of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

descent. He is the

brother A brother (: brothers or brethren) 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 family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used ende ...

of fellow

footballer, Scott Drinkwater who plays for the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest city in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

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 ...

. Drinkwater played his junior football for the Terrigal Sharks, where he partnered best friend Josh English in the halves, before being signed by 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 sea ...

Playing career

National Youth Competition

From 2010 to 2012, Drinkwater played for 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 ...

' National Youth Competition (NYC) team. He was Manly's NYC top point-scorer in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

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

, Drinkwater made his

début for the St. George Illawarra Dragons against the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league team based in Newcastle, New South Wales that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, the Knights joined the top-tier competition in New ...

. 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, after being released from the final year of his St. George Illawarra 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

, commencing in 2015. Drinkwater was initially signed as a back-up for halves

Mitchell Moses Mitchell Moses (; born 16 September 1994) is a professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays as a for the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League, New South Wales in the State of Origin series and has played for Australia an ...

and Luke Brooks. 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 followe ...

, Drinkwater made his

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is tradition ...

' début 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 ...

Leigh Centurions

On 17 May 2016, he was released from his contract at the

to take up an opportunity with the

in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

. 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 rugby league game that decides which Championship teams will be promoted to Super League, and which Super League teams would be relegated for the following season. Instituted in 2015 and ...

in a loss to the

at the end of the 2017 season.

Western Suburbs Magpies

Drinkwater joined

Intrust Super Premiership NSW 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 ...

side the

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) is an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as the club is commonly ...

for the 2018 season.

Catalans Dragons

On 24 April 2018, Drinkwater signed a one-year deal to join the

. On 25 August 2018, Drinkwater was part of the

Dragons A dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depict ...

' historic

Final triumph over the

Warrington Wolves Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England. They play home games at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. Warringto ...

. 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 (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

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

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

' début in a pre-season friendly against the

Widnes Vikings The Widnes Vikings are an English rugby league club in Widnes, Cheshire, which competes in the RFL Championship, Betfred Championship. The club plays home matches at DCBL Stadium. Founded as Widnes Football Club, they are one of the original twe ...

, Drinkwater claimed a 30–16 victory with his new club. Drinkwater made his first competitive appearance for

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. at Craven Park. Drinkwater also subsequently picked up the

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...

' '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. 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 ...

at Belle Vue. On 4 April 2019, Drinkwater opened his try scoring account for

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 play their home games at Headingley Rugby Stadium, AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby lea ...

. Drinkwater scored a brace of tries on 31 May 2019, in

' 22-28

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

Quarter Final defeat by the

Catalans Dragons (rejoin)

On 31 October 2019, it was announced that Drinkwater was re-joining

. 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 R.F.C., St Helens at Old Trafford. Background The two finalis ...

defeat against St. Helens.

Warrington Wolves

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

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

. 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. On 8 June 2024, Drinkwater played in Warrington's

2024 Challenge Cup final The 2024 Challenge Cup Final was the 123rd final of the Rugby Football League's Challenge Cup knock-out competition. The final was contested by Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves. This was the first time since 1990 that both teams had met in t ...

defeat against Wigan. Drinkwater played 23 games for Warrington in the 2024 Super League season as the club reached the semi-final before losing to Hull Kingston Rovers.

Oldham RLFC

On 27 November 2024 it was announced by chairman Bill Quinn that he had signed for

in the

on a one year deal.

Honours

Career Awards and Accolades

Club (Catalans Dragons 2018)

(1):

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

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 rugby league players in England Catalans Dragons players Hull Kingston Rovers players Illawarra Cutters players Indigenous Australian rugby league players 21st-century Indigenous Australian people Leigh Leopards players London Broncos players New South Wales Residents rugby league team players Oldham R.L.F.C. 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 21st-century Australian sportsmen