Shaun Spence (born 11 October 1991) is an Australian former 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. He played for 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

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 ...

, playing in the positions of and .

Playing career

Born in

Griffith, New South Wales Griffith is a major regional city in the northern Riverina region of western New South Wales, known commonly as the food bowl of Australia. It is also the seat of the City of Griffith Local government in Australia, local government area. Like ...

, Spence played his junior football for the Griffith Black and Whites before being signed by the

. He played for the Tigers' NYC team in 2010 and 2011. Spence was captaining the Balmain Ryde Eastwood Tigers in 2012 when he suffered a season-ending knee injury. "By the time I got to the sheds, it was the size of two knees and I knew I was in a bit of strife. The specialist surgeon, Dr Simon Tan, said it looked as though a bomb had exploded inside my knee. He made it very clear this was a career threatening injury." In Round 6 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 ...

Spence 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 ...

debut for the Tigers against the St. George Illawarra Dragons. He played in nine games throughout the season, scoring one try. He received a number of concussions during the season, losing 70% of his ear drum. In July 2013, Spence signed a 2-year contract with the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...

starting in 2014. Coach Mick Potter said, "Disappointing to see him go but happy to see him get an opportunity and earn some reasonable money at another club." Spence spent two season with the Panthers without playing first grade. In his first season, he was rested after being concussed "a few" times. Although receiving payment from the Panthers, Spence received medical advice to play no further rugby league, facing the risk of permanent brain injury. Panthers CEO Trent Pascoe said, "He could've travelled overseas or played Nintendo because he was still getting contract money. He asked every single person t the Penrith officeswhat needed to be done and how he could learn." Spence said, "I may never have played another NRL game but at 23 I can't even go join a local team and play with a bunch of mates. My whole dream was taken away from me." Spence officially retired from the NRL at the end of the 2015 season, and was employed by Wests Tigers as a Fan Engagement and Community Manager.

References

External links

2015 Penrith Panthers profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spence, Shaun 1991 births Living people Australian rugby league players Balmain Ryde-Eastwood Tigers players Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Griffith, New South Wales Rugby league props Wests Tigers NSW Cup players Wests Tigers players 21st-century Australian sportsmen