Scott Drinkwater (born 15 May 1997) 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

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 ...

(NRL). He previously played 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 ...

in the NRL. He has also played as a in his career.

Early life

Drinkwater was born in

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 ...

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 was raised on the

Central Coast, New South Wales The Central Coast is a peri-urban region lying on the Pacific Ocean in eastern New South Wales, Australia. The region is situated north of Sydney, and is filled with subtropical national parks, forests and also encompasses the major coastal wa ...

. He 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 ...

and

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

descent. He played his junior rugby league for the Terrigal Sharks. While attending Terrigal High School, he represented the 2015 Australian Schoolboys.

Playing career

Early career

In 2015, Drinkwater played for the Central Coast Centurions in the

SG 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 ...

. Later that year, he represented the Australian Schoolboys and signed a three-year deal with the

. In 2016, Drinkwater joined Melbourne's

NYC New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive wit ...

team, where he played 29 games over two seasons, scoring 23 tries. In 2017, he moved up to the Storm's

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 ...

feeder side, the

Sunshine Coast Falcons The Sunshine Coast Falcons are a rugby league football team based on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. They compete in the Queensland Cup and their home ground is Sunshine Coast Stadium. The Falcons are currently affiliated with the NRL team Melbo ...

, where he started at five-eighth in their Grand Final loss to the

PNG Hunters The Papua New Guinea Hunters (also referred to as PNG Hunters) are a professional rugby league football club based in Papua New Guinea. They were formed in December 2013 and compete in the Queensland Cup, a second tier competition in Australia. ...

2018

In 2018, Drinkwater played the majority of the season for the Melbourne club's

feeder side, the

Easts Tigers The Brisbane Tigers are a rugby league club based at Langlands Park, in the suburb of Coorparoo in Brisbane, Australia. Since 1996, they have competed in the Queensland Cup, having competed in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership (rugby league ...

. On 24 June, he started at fullback for the

Queensland Residents The Queensland Residents rugby league team is a representative rugby league team consisting of players who compete in the Intrust Super Cup (Queensland Cup) competition. They currently play an annual fixture against NSW Cup Representative Tea ...

in their 20–36 loss to New South Wales Residents. In Round 25 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 ...

, he made his NRL debut for

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

against Penrith, scoring a try in the 16–22 loss. On 29 August, he was named at fullback in the

Intrust Super Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by fif ...

Team of the Year.

2019

On 2 March, Drinkwater tore his pectoral muscle in Melbourne's pre-season trial match against the

, returning 13 weeks later in the

40–22 win over the Northern Pride. On 24 June, he was released by the

and signed immediately with the

, on a -year contract. Before his departure to North Queensland, Drinkwater was described as the next Billy Slater and was nominated as the player to take the vacant fullback jersey at Melbourne. In Round 15 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 ...

, he made his debut for North Queensland, scoring a try in their 14–22 loss to the

St. George Illawarra Dragons The St. George Illawarra Dragons are an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since 1999 after a j ...

2020

In February, Drinkwater was a member of North Queensland's 2020 NRL Nines winning squad. He was named the Player of the Tournament and was named in the Team of the Tournament. With the arrival of

Valentine Holmes Valentine Holmes (born 24 July 1995) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League and for the Queensland Maroons in State of Origin as a er. Holmes pr ...

to the Cowboys, Drinkwater moved to his preferred position at . He started the season as North Queendland's starting , scoring tries in Round 2 and Round 6. In the Cowboys' Round 9 loss to 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 ...

, he ruptured his MCL and missed four weeks. He returned in Round 14, filling in at for the injured Holmes. After two more games at fullback, he finished the season at .

2021

On 5 May, Drinkwater re-signed with the

until the end of the 2023 season.

2022

In round 20 of 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 ...

, Drinkwater scored two tries for North Queensland in a 34-8 victory over St. George Illawarra. The following week, he scored a further two tries in North Queensland's victory over

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

. Drinkwater played 22 games for North Queensland throughout the year as North Queensland finished third on the table and qualified for the finals. Drinkwater played in both finals matches including their upset loss to

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 ...

in the preliminary final which denied North Queensland a fairy tale Grand Final appearance.

2023

In round 2 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 ...

, Drinkwater was sent to the sin bin during North Queensland's 28-16 loss against arch-rivals

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

after hitting

Corey Oates Corey Oates (born 20 October 1994) is a former Australian professional rugby league footballer and radio presenter. He played as er for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League (NRL). He currently co-hosts the KIIS 97.3 breakfast radio ...

with a shoulder charge which broke the players jaw. Drinkwater was later suspended for three matches. In round 16, Drinkwater scored two tries including the winner during golden point extra-time as North Queensland defeated Penrith 27-23. In round 18, Drinkwater scored two tries in North Queensland's 74-0 victory over the Wests Tigers. Drinkwater played 21 games for North Queensland in the

and scored 11 tries as the club finished 11th on the table.

2024

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 ...

, Drinkwater scored two tries in North Queensland's 35-22 victory over strugglers the Gold Coast. In round 22, he scored two tries in North Queensland's 48-30 win over the Wests Tigers. Drinkwater played 26 games for North Queensland in the 2024 NRL season as they finished 5th on the table. He played in both finals games for North Queensland as they were eliminated in the second week by Cronulla.

Achievements and accolades

Individual

NRL 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 P ...

Player of the Tournament: 2020 *

Team of the Year: 2018 * Cooper Cronk Feeder Club Player of the Year: 2018

Team

* 2020 NRL Nines: North Queensland Cowboys – Winners

Statistics

NRL

: : *denotes season still competing

Personal life

Drinkwater's brother,

Josh Josh is a masculine given name, frequently a diminutive (hypocorism) of the given names Joshua or Joseph, though since the 1970s, it has increasingly become a full name on its own. It may refer to: People A–J *Big Josh, stage name for America ...

, is also a professional rugby league footballer, who as of 2025 plays for the

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

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) ...

References

External links

North Queensland Cowboys profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drinkwater, Scott 1997 births Living people Australian people of German descent Australian rugby league players Brisbane Tigers players Indigenous Australian rugby league players 21st-century Indigenous Australian people Mackay Cutters players Melbourne Storm players North Queensland Cowboys players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league players from Penrith, New South Wales Sunshine Coast Falcons players Wiradjuri people 21st-century Australian sportsmen