Ex-NRL Journeyman Returns to Rugby League

A former NRL journeyman, who previously played for the Canberra Raiders, St George Illawarra Dragons, and Manly Sea Eagles, has made the decision to make a comeback to rugby league.

Joel Thompson, who last participated in rugby league in 2021 with St Helens in the Super League and in the NRL in 2020, has reached an agreement with a new team, marking his return to the sport.

Thompson has opted to join his local team, the Currumbin Eagles, in the Rugby League Gold Coast competition. In a surprising turn of events, he amusingly encountered Eagles coach and former NRL player Matt Geyer during a walk and expressed his eagerness to rejoin the 13-man code.

“It’s funny, I ran into Matt (Geyer) a few times while on a walk, and we got chatting, and I told him I wanted to play again,” Thompson shared with the Gold Coast Bulletin.

“Then I decided to come down to training and try it out. I have only heard wonderful things about Currumbin, and living in the area, I thought I would be foolish not to go there. They have been so welcoming already, and it has been a lot of fun just to have a run around. What Matt has done for that club already and the way he wants to go about it is just another reason why I went down to the club.”

Having debuted in the NRL with the Canberra Raiders in 2008, Thompson, a second-rower and centre, amassed 235 first-grade games across three different clubs – Raiders (89 games), Dragons (86 games), and Sea Eagles (60 games). His representative achievements include seven appearances in the Indigenous All-Star team, representing the Australian Schoolboys in 2006 and the Junior Kangaroos in 2007, as well as playing for Country Origin twice in 2011 and 2015.

Reflecting on his career, Thompson expressed a desire to share valuable life lessons with younger players at the Eagles.

“The one thing I wish I had told myself back then was to make sure I listen more to the older guys of the game,” Thompson added. “And I hope I can help the younger guys who are coming through the Eagles with those types of life lessons. Outside of league, I do a lot of work with youth centers and helping them find jobs and career paths. I have told Matt and the club that I will be on the road a fair bit. But they know I want to play footy, and I think it will be good for my family to see me playing again.”