Thomas Flegler (born 19 August 1999) 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 the

Dolphins A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

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 also represents

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 ...

at international level. Flegler previously played for 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 ...

in the NRL, the

Prime Minister's XIII Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PM's XIII, a representative rugby league team, comprising Australian players from National Rugby League clubs that did not qualify for the NRL Finals, or whose teams were knocked ...

internationally, and

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

in the

State of Origin series The State of Origin series is an annual best-of-three rugby league series between two States and territories of Australia, Australian state representative sides, the New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales Blues and the Queensland ru ...

Background

Flegler was born in

Innisfail, Queensland Innisfail (from Irish language, Irish: Inis Fáil) is a regional town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. The town was originally called Geraldton until 1910. In the , the town o ...

, Australia. He played his junior rugby league for the

Tully Tigers The Tully Tigers were formed in 1919 and currently field male and female teams in all junior grades of the Cairns District Rugby League. The club is based at Tully Showgrounds, Tully, Queensland Tully is a rural town and Suburbs and localitie ...

, before being signed by the

Career

In early 2018, Queensland under-20s coach,

Justin Hodges Justin Hodges (born 25 May 1982) is an Australian professional boxer and former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative , Hodges started ...

drew comparisons of Flegler to that of former Broncos forward,

Shane Webcke Shane Webcke (born 28 September 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, who spent his entire club career playing for the Brisbane Broncos. Webcke represented Queensland in the State of Origin 21 times and also capta ...

Brisbane Broncos (2019–2023)

Flegler made his NRL debut for Brisbane in round 1 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 ...

against 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 Round 2 against 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 ...

, he ran for the most running metres, running for 196 metres off twelve runs. On 29 June, he scored his first career try for the Broncos in a 26–12 loss to the Newcastle Knights. On 7 October 2019, Flegler was named at prop for the U23 Junior Australian side. On 21 October, Flegler won the Broncos' Rookie of the Year along with

Patrick Carrigan Patrick Carrigan (born 1 January 1998) is an Australian professional rugby league player who plays as a or for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australia national rugby league team, Australia at international level. ...

. Flegler played thirteen games for Brisbane 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 ...

. In 2021, he made his state of origin debut for

in game 3 of the series due to the suspension of forwards David Fifita and

Jai Arrow Jai Arrow (born 12 July 1995) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a , and forward for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL. He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos and Gold Coast Titans in the National R ...

, where Queensland won 20-18. In round 19 of the

2021 NRL season The 2021 NRL season was the 114th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 15th consecutive year. Regular season Ladd ...

, Flegler was sent to the sin bin for a dangerous high tackle on Penrith's

Isaah Yeo Isaah Patrick Ferguson-Yeo (born 6 November 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who co-captains and plays as a forward for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL and captains New South Wales in State of Origin and Australia a ...

in Brisbane's 12-18 loss. In round 24, Flegler was sent to the sin bin during Brisbane's loss against Cronulla for a dangerous high tackle. On 31 August, Flegler was suspended by the NRL Judiciary for four matches in relation to the high tackle. In September, Flegler was involved in a fight with teammate Jordan Riki after a night out during Brisbane's Mad Monday celebrations. It was reported that Riki received a cut on his face. In 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 ...

, Flegler played a total of eighteen games for Brisbane. In round 27 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 ...

, he captained the Brisbane Broncos against the Melbourne Storm at Suncorp Stadium and scored the first try of the match. In May 2023, Flegler was selected to play for

in Game I of the

2023 State of Origin series The 2023 State of Origin series was the 42nd annual best-of-three series between the Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams. Before this series, Queensland had won 23 times, NSW 16 times, with two series drawn. Venues Game I was hel ...

against

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

on 31 May at

Adelaide Oval The Adelaide Oval is a stadium in Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Parklands, parklands. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby league, ...

in South Australia. Flegler played a total of twenty-two games for Brisbane in the

. In Brisbane's 24-26 loss to Penrith in the

2023 NRL Grand Final The 2023 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2023 National Rugby League season in Australia. It was contested between the Penrith Panthers and the Brisbane Broncos on Sunday the 1st of October at Stadium Aus ...

, he scored Brisbane's opening try of the match in the 39th minute. In October, Flegler was selected to play for Australia in the 2023 Pacific Championships.

Dolphins (2024-)

In February 2023, Flegler signed a four-year contract to play for the

from 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 ...

onwards. Flegler was ruled out for the rest of the 2024 season after suffering a serious shoulder injury in round 5. On 6 September, it was announced that Flegler had undergone nerve graft surgery six weeks prior in a bid to fix the issue in his shoulder.

Statistics

References

External links

Dolphins profileBroncos profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flegler, Thomas 1999 births Living people 21st-century Australian sportsmen Australian rugby league players Brisbane Broncos players Dolphins (NRL) players Prime Minister's XIII players Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players Rugby league locks Rugby league props Rugby league players from Innisfail, Queensland Australia national rugby league team players