Jacob Miller (rugby league) explained

Jacob Miller
Fullname:Jacob Miller
Birth Date:22 August 1992[1]
Birth Place:Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height:1.82abbr=onNaNabbr=on
Weight:84abbr=onNaNabbr=on
Club1:Wests Tigers
Year1start:2011
Year1end:13
Appearances1:9
Tries1:2
Goals1:1
Fieldgoals1:1
Points1:11
Club2:Hull F.C.
Year2start:2013
Year2end:14
Appearances2:24
Tries2:6
Goals2:9
Fieldgoals2:0
Points2:42
Club3:Doncaster
Year3start:2014(loan)
Appearances3:5
Tries3:2
Goals3:0
Fieldgoals3:0
Points3:8
Club4:Wakefield Trinity
Year4start:2015
Year4end:22
Appearances4:200
Tries4:62
Goals4:17
Fieldgoals4:10
Points4:292
Club5:Castleford Tigers
Year5start:2023
Year5end:present
Appearances5:45
Tries5:6
Goals5:0
Fieldgoals5:1
Points5:25
Yearastart:2022
Appearancesa:1
Triesa:0
Goalsa:0
Fieldgoalsa:0
Pointsa:0
Retired:no
Source:[2] [3]
Updated:21 July 2024

Jacob Miller (born 22 August 1992) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Castleford Tigers in the Super League.

He previously played for the Wests Tigers in the NRL, and for Hull F.C. and Wakefield Trinity in the Super League. He has also spent time on loan from Hull at Doncaster in the Championship. He has played at representative level for the Combined Nations All Stars.

Background

Miller was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Early years

Hailing from Ocean Shores,[4] Miller played junior football with Mullumbimby Giants, winning a premiership with the Giants in the under 18s competition in 2007. He was a pupil at Mullumbimby High School before he moved to Sydney and was a pupil at Matraville Sports High School when he was chosen as halfback for the Australian Schoolboys in 2009.[5]

On a scholarship with the Sydney Roosters from age 14 onwards, Miller was released from the club as they had Todd Carney, Braith Anasta and Mitchell Pearce able to fill positions in the halves.[6]

Playing career

Wests Tigers

Miller made his début with the Wests Tigers in round 4 of the 2011 NRL season, playing from the bench, and getting on the field with 20 minutes to go.[7] He was only 18 at the time, and coach Tim Sheens said, "If you're good enough, you're old enough. And I think he's good enough." Two weeks later he made his first appearance in the run-on squad, playing as halfback in a match against the Gold Coast Titans,[8] standing in for injured Robert Lui.

Besides NRL appearances, Miller played in the Wests Tigers' Toyota Cup team. He scored 5 tries and 128 points for the season, and was named as halfback in the competition's Team of the Year.[9]

In round 4 of the 2012 season, Miller, after a late call up, scored his first NRL try. However, it was to be his only first grade appearance for the year. He finished the year by playing a "starring role" as Wests Tigers won the Under-20s grand final 46–6 against the Canberra Raiders.[10] He then kicked six goals as he played five-eighth in the Junior Kangaroos squad that beat New Zealand 48–16.[11]

Beginning the 2013 season as the Wests Tigers first choice of halfback, Miller started in the first 4 games of the season before being dropped to reserve grade for Braith Anasta.[12]

Hull F.C.

Weeks later it was announced Miller had been released and signed for Hull F.C. on a -year deal.[13]

It was announced Miller would leave the club at the end of the 2014 season.

Wakefield Trinity

He was subsequently signed by Wakefield Trinity for the 2015 season.[14] Miller played 200 matches for Wakefield Trinity over a seven-year period.

Castleford Tigers

In October 2022, Miller signed for the Castleford Tigers, joining on a three-year deal from local rivals Wakefield.[15] He made his Castleford debut in round 1 against Hull FC, scoring a try and being voted Fans Man of the Match.[16] [17] He scored a try and a drop goal against Hull KR on 21 April,[18] and a further try against the Leeds Rhinos at the Magic Weekend on 3 June.[19] However, he also topped the league for missed tackles and registered only 1 try assist throughout the year.[20] He made a total of 26 appearances for Castleford in the 2023 season, as the Tigers narrowly avoided relegation by finishing above his previous club Wakefield.[21]

Miller's strong performance in 2024 pre-season was highlighted by new head coach Craig Lingard.[22] In round 3, he was voted Fans Man of the Match against Warrington.[23] He scored his first try of the year against the Batley Bulldogs in the Challenge Cup on 23 March.[24]

Club statistics

Appearances and points in all competitions by year
Club Season Tier
Wests Tigers2011NRL4 0 1 0 2
2012NRL1 1 0 0 4
2013NRL4 1 0 1 5
Total9 2 1 1 11
Hull F.C.2013Super League14 3 0 0 12
2014Super League10 3 9 0 30
Total24 6 9 0 42
Doncaster (loan)2014Championship5 2 0 0 8
Wakefield Trinity2015Super League30 15 17 0 94
2016Super League32 10 0 1 41
2017Super League22 10 0 1 41
2018Super League31 6 0 2 26
2019Super League25 10 0 1 41
2020Super League15 2 0 2 10
2021Super League21 5 0 2 22
2022Super League24 4 0 1 17
Total200 62 17 10 292
Castleford Tigers2023Super League26 3 0 1 13
2024Super League19 3 0 0 12
Total45 6 0 1 25
Career total283 78 27 12 378

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jacob Miller CastlefordTigers. 2015. superleague.co.uk. Rugby Football League. 26 July 2015.
  2. http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/player-profile?playerid=111550&teamid=3400 League Central
  3. http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/jacob-miller/summary.html Rugby League Project
  4. Web site: Wests Tigers sign Mullumbimby's Jacob Miller. Mitchell Craig. 29 June 2011. rlcm.com.au. https://web.archive.org/web/20111001001635/http://www.rlcm.com.au/latest-news/8876-rugby-league. 1 October 2011. dead.
  5. News: Central Western Daily. Canowindra star makes Australian Schoolboys. Daniel Briggs. 29 June 2011. 22 July 2009.
  6. News: The Sydney Morning Herald. Cooped-up Rooster gets a run with Tigers. Chris Barrett. 29 June 2011. 1 April 2011.
  7. News: The Sydney Morning Herald. It's Miller's time at last as young cub earns stripes with late show. Glenn Jackson. 29 June 2011. 4 April 2011.
  8. Web site: Custom Match List. 29 June 2011. RLP. 31 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170131030043/http://websites.sportstg.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=7-2130-0-0-0&sID=26424. dead.
  9. News: SportsNewsFirst. Tiger cub wants key role. 29 November 2011. 29 November 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20120420230513/http://www.sportsnewsfirst.com.au/articles/2011/11/29/tiger-cub-wants-key-role/. 20 April 2012. dead.
  10. News: Jon Tuxworth. The Sydney Morning Herald. Wighton to start in the halves for juniors. 19 October 2012. 11 October 2012.
  11. Web site: Nathan Ross. weststigers.com.au. Miller happy with his year. 19 October 2012. 15 October 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121017235830/http://www.weststigers.com.au/news-display/tigers/65117. 17 October 2012. dead.
  12. News: The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Braith Anasta has mixed emotions over move to halves for Wests Tigers. 14 May 2013. 6 April 2013.
  13. Web site: Holden. Matt. HULL END SEVEN SEARCH WITH AUSSIE STARLET MILLER. hullfc.com. Hull FC. 14 May 2013.
  14. Web site: 21 November 2014 . Jacob Miller: Wakefield Trinity Wildcats sign ex-Hull FC half-back . 18 December 2014 . BBC Sport.
  15. Web site: 4 October 2022 . Jacob Miller: Half-back moves from Wakefield to Castleford . 5 November 2023 . BBC Sport.
  16. Web site: 19 February 2023 . Super League: Hull FC 32-30 Castleford Tigers - Away side fall just short of remarkable fightback . 5 November 2023 . BBC Sport.
  17. Castleford Tigers. Castleford Tigers. CTRLFC. 1627639203185192960. Your first @HuntersHomes Fans Man of the Match of the 2023 season is @jmilky34!.
  18. Web site: 21 April 2023 . Super League: Castleford Tigers 7-12 Hull KR - Rovers move within two points of leaders Warrington . 5 November 2023 . BBC Sport.
  19. Web site: 3 June 2023 . Super League: Leeds Rhinos 24-26 Castleford - Tigers end six-game losing run . 5 November 2023 . BBC Sport.
  20. Web site: Player stats - Jacob Miller . 6 November 2023 . Super League.
  21. Web site: Olawumi . Ben . 22 September 2023 . Castleford Tigers ace Alex Mellor delivers brutally honest assessment of 'awful' season; 'We've massively underperformed' . 6 November 2023 . Love Rugby League.
  22. Web site: Chapman-Coombe . Louis . Exclusive: Castleford Tigers boss Craig Lingard on unlocking Jacob Miller and Innes Senior's arrival . 24 March 2024 . casforum.co.uk.
  23. Castleford Tigers. Castleford Tigers. CTRLFC. 1764679065846350272. The @HuntersHomes Man of the Match from Friday night goes to... Jacob Miller!.
  24. Web site: 23 March 2024 . Challenge Cup: Batley Bulldogs 14-28 Castleford Tigers: Paul McShane stars as Super League side progress . 24 March 2024 . BBC Sport.