Rory Kostjasyn (born 6 June 1987) is a former

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

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. He played 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) for 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 ...

and

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 ...

, with whom he was a member of their 2015 NRL premiership and 2016 World Club Challenge winning sides. An

international and New South Wales Country representative, he played at , but could also fill in at , and . Kostjasyn currently works in the

Dolphins (NRL) The Dolphins are a professional rugby league football team, based in the Redcliffe Peninsula area of the City of Moreton Bay (which is part of the greater Brisbane area of South East Queensland, South East Queensland), that competes in the Aus ...

coaching department, he was previously with 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 ...

coaching department and previously coached their

Canterbury Cup 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 ...

team.

Background

Kostjasyn was born in

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 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 ...

and grew up in Berkeley Vale on New South Wale's Central Coast. Of Russian and Irish descent, Kostjasyn's grandparents on his father's side are both from Russia. He played his junior football for the Berkeley Vale Panthers, and was signed by 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 ...

as a teenager, playing for their

Jersey Flegg Cup The Jersey Flegg Cup is a junior rugby league competition played in New South Wales, Australia, contested among teams made up of players aged 21 or under. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL), and is named ...

side. While contracted to the Roosters, Kostjasyn played for their

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 ...

affiliate Newtown. He played in the 2006

NSW 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 ...

grand final for Newtown who were the

feeder club at the time against

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 ...

. Newtown would lose the grand final 20-19 at

Stadium Australia 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 ...

. After not playing first grade at the Roosters, he signed with the

for the 2010 season.

Playing career

2010

Kostjasyn made his first-team début for the

against Harlequins RL at the

Twickenham Stoop Twickenham Stoop Stadium (informally referred to as The Stoop) is a stadium located in south-west London, England, situated just across the road from Twickenham Stadium. The stadium is home to the Harlequins in Premiership Rugby and has a c ...

in the World City Challenge, the Storm's warm-up match before the

2010 World Club Challenge The 2010 World Club Challenge (known as the Gillette World Club Challenge due to sponsorship by Gillette Fusion) was a rugby league tournament contested by Super League XIV champions, Leeds Rhinos, and 2009 NRL Premiers the Melbourne Storm. Thi ...

. He played again a week later against 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 ...

from the bench in the World Club Challenge. Training with the first grade squad over that summer earned Kostjasyn a spot in the club's World Cup Challenge squad and a subsequent medal as part of the winning team. He was later signed by the club on a two-year contract. He then went on to make his

début in the

2010 NRL season The 2010 NRL season was the 103rd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the thirteenth run by the National Rugby League (NRL). The season commenced on 12 March and ended with the grand final, played on 3 ...

. He went on to play 7 games that season making his début in Round 1 of that season. He scored his first try for the club in Round 14 of the 2010 season.

2011

In 2011, Kostjasyn was a more regular member of the Melbourne team, playing 12 matches, starting in three of them. Known for his versatility, played games at five-eighth, hooker and lock in 2011.

2012

Kostjasyn played in 14 games in the

2012 NRL season The 2012 NRL season was the 105th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia, and the first run by the newly formed Australian Rugby League Commission. The main competition, called the 2012 NRL Telstra Premiership due to spon ...

, deputising for injured teammate

Cooper Cronk Cooper Patrick Cronk (born 5 December 1983) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An n international and Queensland rugby league team, Queensland State of Origin series, State of Origin ...

in the halves at times. In Week One of the 2012 finals series against 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 ...

, Kostjasyn made his first finals appearance. He was named 18th man for the Melbourne Storm in the 2012 Grand Final. On 26 July 2012, Kostjasyn signed a two-year deal with the

for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

2013

In 2013, Kostjasyn mainly played the for the Cowboys, rotating with Ray Thompson. He made 20 appearances for North Queensland in 2013, including the semi-final against the

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

, which he started at hooker. At the end of the season, he was named in

's 24-man squad for the

2013 Rugby League World Cup The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth World Cup for men’s national rugby league teams. It took place between the 26 October and 30 November and was hosted by England and Wales (although some games were played in France and Ire ...

, playing 3 games in the tournament.

2014

In February, Kostjasyn played in the Cowboys' championship-winning

Auckland Nines The NRL Nines is a rugby league nines competition, normally held during the NRL preseason each year. It was initially held in Auckland, New Zealand, between 2014 and 2017 before going on hiatus. Returning in 2020, hosting duties moved to Per ...

side. On 2 July, he re-signed with the North Queensland on another two-year-deal, keeping him with the Cowboys until 2016. He missed just one first grade game in 2014, due to broken ribs, starting 23 games at hooker.

2015

On 4 October, Kostjasyn was a member of the Cowboys'

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Synonymous with a championship game in North Ameri ...

winning side, coming off the bench in the side's 17–16 victory over 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 ...

. The Grand Final was his 100th NRL game.

2016

On 21 February, Kostjasyn was a member of the Cowboys'

World Club Challenge The World Club Challenge is an annual rugby league competition between the winners of the Australian National Rugby League and the British Super League, for the de facto club world championship of the sport. Super League sides have won the c ...

winning side, coming off the bench in the side's 38–4 victory over the

Headingley Stadium Headingley Stadium is a stadium complex in Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, and England. Linked by a two-sided stand housing common facilities, it comprises two separate grounds: Headingley Cricket Ground (home of Yorkshire County Cricket Clu ...

. He played 26 games in his final season at the Cowboys and represented

Country Origin The Country New South Wales rugby league team is a representative rugby league football team. Between 1987 and 2017 there were two tiers: the Origin team that consisted of professional players who originated from clubs of the Country Rugby Leagu ...

for the first time in May. In October, he signed a 2-year contract with the

starting in 2017.

2017

During pre-season training with the Knights on 7 January, Kostjasyn suffered an accidental blow to his throat from

Danny Levi Daniel Levi (born 5 December 1995) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has played for New Zealand, New Zealand Māori and Samoa at international level. He p ...

. He was required to be sent immediately to the

John Hunter Hospital The John Hunter Hospital and John Hunter Children's Hospital (sometimes known as the JHH and JHCH respectively), is a teaching hospital and children's hospital in Newcastle, and northern New South Wales, Australia. The 820 bed hospital is the ma ...

after suffering a fracture in the

Cricoid cartilage The cricoid cartilage , or simply cricoid (from the Greek ''krikoeides'' meaning "ring-shaped") or cricoid ring, is the only complete ring of cartilage around the trachea. It forms the back part of the voice box and functions as an attachment sit ...

in his neck. He stayed overnight in hospital and was released on 8 January. On 25 July, he announced his retirement from rugby league due to breathing difficulties from the injury.

Post playing

Kostjasyn after retiring from the NRL he revealed that his injury compromised his breathing and changed his voice. In 2018, Kostjasyn became the coach of the

reserve grade side. In 2020, Kostjasyn was appointed as the teams Development coach. On 3 October 2024

announced via social media that Kostjasyn would join the team as an assistant coach.

Achievements and accolades

Team

– Winners* *

2014 NRL Auckland Nines The 2014 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the first NRL Auckland Nines tournament, contested between all sixteen teams of the National Rugby League. The draw was released on 30 October 2013 ...

– Winners *

2015 NRL Grand Final The 2015 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2015 NRL season and was played on Sunday 4 October at Sydney's ANZ Stadium between the Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys. North Queensland won the ma ...

– Winners * 2016 World Club Challenge:

– Winners

Statistics

NRL

: ''Statistics are correct to the end of the 2015 season''

International

References

External links

Newcastle Knights profileNRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kostjaysn, Rory 1987 births Living people Australian rugby league players Australian rugby league coaches Australian people of Irish descent Australian people of Russian descent Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players Ireland national rugby league team players Irish rugby league players Mackay Cutters players Melbourne Storm players New South Wales Residents rugby league team players Newtown Jets NSW Cup players North Queensland Cowboys players Rugby league utility players Rugby league hookers Rugby league locks Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league players from Auburn, New South Wales 21st-century Australian sportsmen