Danny Levi

Summary

Daniel Levi (born 5 December 1996) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has played for New Zealand, New Zealand Māori and Samoa at international level.

Danny Levi
Personal information
Full nameDaniel Levi[1]
Born (1996-12-05) 5 December 1996 (age 27)
Wellington, New Zealand
Height177 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight90 kg (14 st 2 lb)
Playing information
PositionHooker
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015–19 Newcastle Knights 83 5 0 0 20
2020 Manly Sea Eagles 20 2 0 0 8
2021 Brisbane Broncos 9 0 0 0 0
2022 Huddersfield Giants 30 4 0 0 16
2023– Canberra Raiders 11 4 0 0 16
Total 153 15 0 0 60
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2017–23 New Zealand 4 0 0 0 0
2019 Māori All Stars 1 0 0 0 0
2019–22 Samoa 5 2 0 0 8
2019 Samoa 9s 4 2 1 0 11
Source: [2]
As of 20 April 2024

He previously played for the Newcastle Knights, Brisbane Broncos and the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL, and the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League.

Background edit

Levi was born in Wellington, New Zealand, and is of Māori and Samoan descent.[3]

He played his junior rugby league for the Randwick Kingfishers. He then moved to Australia and played for the Glenmore Park Brumbies,[4] before being signed by the Newcastle Knights.

Playing career edit

Early career edit

Midway through the 2013 season, Levi signed with the Newcastle Knights on a 2+12-year contract effective immediately.[5] From 2013 to 2015, he played for the Knights' NYC team,[6][7] captaining the side in 2014 as an 18-year-old and also in 2015.[8][9] On 2 September 2014, he was named on the interchange bench in the 2014 NYC Team of the Year.[10] On 24 September 2014, he extended his contract with the Knights to the end of 2017.[5] On 18 October 2014, he played for the Junior Kiwis against the Junior Kangaroos.[11]

2015 edit

Levi played for the Knights in the pre-season Auckland Nines.[12]

On 2 May, he again played for the Junior Kiwis, coming off the interchange bench in the Kiwis' 22-20 loss to the Junior Kangaroos.[1][13][14]

 
Levi playing for the Newcastle Knights in 2015

In Round 15 of the season, he made his first-grade debut for the Knights against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, playing off the interchange bench in the Knights' 30-28 loss at Hunter Stadium.[15][16][17] In Round 16 against the Brisbane Broncos, he scored his first NRL career try in the Knights' 44-22 loss at Suncorp Stadium.[18] On 27 August, he extended his contract with the Knights to the end of 2018.[19][20]

Levi played at hooker in the Knights' New South Wales Cup Grand Final win over the Wyong Roos,[21][22] and the following week in the NRL State Championship Final, a 12-26 loss against the Ipswich Jets.[23] He finished off his debut year in the NRL having played in 7 matches and scoring 2 tries for the Knights as the club finished last.[24] He was named on the interchange bench in the 2015 NYC Team of the Year for a second year in a row.[25]

2016 edit

In February, Levi played for the Knights in the 2016 NRL Auckland Nines.[26] In May, he was named as 19th man for New Zealand during the 2016 Anzac Test.[27][28] He finished the season having played in 18 matches as the club finished last on the table. Out of 18 matches Levi played in, 17 of them ended in defeat. The other match was a 24-24 draw with the Canberra Raiders in round 3 of the competition.[29][30]

2017 edit

In April, Levi extended his Newcastle contract from the end of 2018 until the end of 2020.[31]

Levi played a total of 24 games for Newcastle in the 2017 NRL season as the club finished last for a third straight year.[32]

2018 edit

 
Levi playing for the Newcastle Knights in 2018

Levi played 17 games for Newcastle in the 2018 NRL season as the club improved upon the earlier three years by finishing 11th on the table.[33]

2019 edit

Levi played 17 games in the 2019 NRL season for Newcastle as the club finished 11th on the table for a second consecutive year.[34]

2020 edit

On 22 January, Levi was released by Newcastle and signed a one-year contract to join the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles for the 2020 NRL season.[35]

On 26 February, Levi spoke to the media about his departure from Newcastle and his rocky relationship with the club's former head coaching Nathan Brown saying “It was hard, it was a bit of a rollercoaster. I thought there were things that were unfair, You hear a lot of stories where coaches that just don’t like you, no matter what you do. You could be in his bad books and that’s it. I think I might have been in a situation like that. I'm just happy to be out of it. I never have anything towards the club or the team, some of my best friends are in that team".[36]

In round 10 against Parramatta, Levi scored his first try for Manly-Warringah as they won the match 22-18 at Brookvale Oval.[37]

In September, Levi was informed by Manly-Warringah that his services would not be required for the 2021 season.[38]

2021 edit

On 4 February 2021 it was reported that Levi would join the Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup for the 2021 season.[39]

On 20 April, Levi signed with the Brisbane Broncos for the remainder of the season, later that week, Levi made his club debut in round 7 against Parramatta where Brisbane lost 46-6 at TIO Stadium in Darwin.[40] On 29 September, Levi signed a two-year deal to join English side Huddersfield.[41]

2022 edit

On 28 May, Levi played for Huddersfield in their 2022 Challenge Cup Final loss to Wigan.[42]

In October Levi was named in the Samoa squad for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.[43]

2023 edit

On 8 January, Levi signed a two-year deal to join Canberra ahead of the 2023 NRL season.[44] In round 3 of the 2023 NRL season, Levi suffered a broken jaw during Canberra's 24-20 victory over Cronulla and was ruled out for an indefinite period. It was reported that trainers attempted to search for Levi's missing teeth during and after the game.[45] Levi was limited to only four matches with Canberra in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 8th on the table and qualified for the finals.[46]

Statistics edit

Year Team Games Tries Pts
2015   Newcastle Knights 7 2 8
2016 18
2017 24 3 12
2018 17
2019 17
2020   Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 20 2 8
2021   Brisbane Broncos 9
2022   Huddersfield Giants 20 4 16
2023   Canberra Raiders 4
2024 6 4 16
Totals 151 15 60

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Representative Round team lists". NRL.com. 3 May 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Daniel Levi - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 5 December 1995. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  3. ^ "'I guess the coaches have seen something in me' - Kiwis hooker hoping to impress after taking hero's spot" – via TVNZ.
  4. ^ "ABOUT US - Penrith Junior Rugby League Club | Glenmore Park Brumbies JRLFC". Brumbiesstampede.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Levi extends Knights contract - Knights". Newcastleknights.com.au. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  6. ^ "L". Nycdatabase.org. 27 December 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  7. ^ "NYC and NSW Cup round 4 teams - Knights". Newcastleknights.com.au. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  8. ^ "Kiwi experience motivates Levi - Knights". Newcastleknights.com.au. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  9. ^ "Knights v Panthers: Five key points". NRL.com. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  10. ^ Steven Russo (2 September 2014). "Holden Cup Team Of The Year Announced". Rugbyleagueweek.com.au. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  11. ^ "2014 JUNIOR KIWIS TEAM ANNOUNCED". Rugbyleagueweek.com.au. 10 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  12. ^ "KNIGHTS NAME 2015 NINES SQUAD". Rugby League Week. 20 January 2015. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  13. ^ "Representative Round team lists". NRL.com. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  14. ^ "Junior Roos hold on in thriller". NRL.com. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  15. ^ "LATE MAIL: Knights v Sharks - Knights". Newcastleknights.com.au. 21 June 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  16. ^ Keeble, Brett (24 June 2015). "Levi realises his dream | Newcastle Herald". Theherald.com.au. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  17. ^ "Sharks Beat Knights 30-28 as Ben Barba Puts in Impressive Cameo". Dailytelegraph.com.au. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  18. ^ "Live NRL: Brisbane Broncos v Newcastle Knights". Smh.com.au. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  19. ^ "Levi and Cogger extend contracts | NRL". Zero Tackle. 27 August 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  20. ^ "Knights Re-Sign Levi, Cogger". Rugby League Week. 27 August 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  21. ^ "VB NSW Cup Grand Final Team List". NSWRL. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  22. ^ Brett Keeble (27 September 2015). "Newcastle Knights extend Clint Newton's career with NSW Cup win over Wyong Roos". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  23. ^ Brett Keeble (4 October 2015). "Ipswich Jets shoot down Newcastle Knights to win NRL State Championship Final". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  24. ^ "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  25. ^ "2015 Holden Cup Team of the Year". NRL.com. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  26. ^ "Knights Announce Nines Squad - Rugby League Week". Rugbyleagueweek.com.au. 28 January 2016. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  27. ^ "Bromwich to lead new-look Kiwis". NRL.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  28. ^ "Warriors hooker Issac Luke dropped from Kiwis, Storm prop Jesse Bromwich named captain". Stuff.co.nz. 1 May 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  29. ^ "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  30. ^ "The worst teams in NRL history". Sporting News.
  31. ^ NewcastleKnights.com.au (5 March 2017). "Newcastle Knights re-sign Danny Levi". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  32. ^ "Knights: 2017 by the numbers". NRL. 12 December 2017.
  33. ^ "Newcastle Knights 2018 season review". NRL. 22 October 2018.
  34. ^ "2019 SEASON REVIEW NEWCASTLE KNIGHT". Nothing But League. 3 October 2019.
  35. ^ "Levi's in fashion this season: Manly like style of new arrival". NRL. 22 January 2020.
  36. ^ "Danny Levi opens up on unfair exit". www.foxsports.com.au. 26 February 2020.
  37. ^ "Sea Eagles Stun Eels Dogs Blow It Late". ABC News. 18 July 2020.
  38. ^ "Bunnies lock in two rising stars; Manly farewell three players". www.foxsports.com.au. 28 September 2020.
  39. ^ "Danny Levi finds new club". Love Rugby League. 4 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  40. ^ "Parramatta thrashes Brisbane Broncos 46-6, Benji Marshall inspires South Sydney to 40-30 NRL win over Gold Coast". ABC News. 23 April 2021.
  41. ^ "Huddersfield sign former New Zealand hooker Danny Levi from Brisbane Broncos on two-year deal". www.skysports.com.
  42. ^ "Challenge Cup final: Huddersfield Giants 14-16 Wigan Warriors". www.bbc.co.uk.
  43. ^ Full list of every squad at the Rugby League World Cup 2021
  44. ^ "Danny Levi to join Raiders". www.raiders.com.au.
  45. ^ "Danny Levi forced to search for his teeth after ex-Huddersfield hooker suffers horror injury". www.examinerlive.co.uk.
  46. ^ "Ricky turned losing a club legend into a winning season. Now for his biggest challenge - Brutal Review". www.foxsports.com.au.

External links edit

  • Newcastle Knights profile
  • 2017 RLWC profile
  • Samoa profile