Joel Clinton
-
Joel Clinton hits the line against the Warriors in July 2006 -
Clinton at rest
Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Joel Clinton |
| Height | 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) |
| Weight | 114 kg (251 lb; 17 st 13 lb) |
| Position | Prop |
Joel Clinton (born 8 December 1981) is a rugby league player for the Penrith Panthers. Clinton was born in Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia. Clinton plays prop, wears Number 8, and is a dominating force on the NRL field. Standing at 197 cm and 114 kg, he is an imposing player, and the king piece of the large Panthers pack. Clinton has kept the Panthers on the front foot this season with his bruising runs and uncompromising defense. Joel Clinton is due to come off contract in 2008 - recent Panthers rhetoric suggests he may not be renewed at his current salary.[1]
Playing career
Before becoming the beloved Panthers stalwart that he is, Clinton also played for the Paramatta Eels. Clinton rose to prominence in the 2003 Premiership, where he emerged as a standout in the surprising Panthers season. Clinton helped the Panthers come back from last in 2001, to become Minor Premiers and Grand Final Champions in 2003.
Clinton was rewarded for his form with test selection for Australia in 2003. Clinton described the experience as "a great personal bonus but did not compare to winning the premiership with the guys you train and play with all year long."
Clinton's good form continued into 2004 and was selected in the Australian Test Team that took on the Kiwis in the annual ANZAC Test. His performance on debut was highly rated by rugby league experts, so it came as a shock to many when Clinton was overlooked for selection for NSW in all three games of the 2004 State of Origin series.
2007 season
Fresh from a revolutionary off-season under new coach Matt Elliott, Clinton said that confidence within the Panthers team was high for 2007.
"Blokes like me, Trent Waterhouse and Luke Lewis have taken on a leadership role this year," the 25-year-old said. "We used to be the younger generation but we've become senior players ourselves."
| Round / Opposition | Runs | Metres Gained | Tackles | Tries | Win / Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 5, Parramatta | 8 | 99 | 40 | 0 | Loss |
| Round 4, Titans | 6 | 48 | 45 | 0 | Loss |
| Round 3, Brisbane | 12 | 99 | 36 | 0 | Win |
| Round 2, Bulldogs | 10 | 93 | 15 | 0 | Win |
| Round 1, Cronulla | 10 | 81 | 30 | 0 | Loss |
After the Panthers win over the Bulldogs in Round 2, sports journalists were commenting on how important Joel Clinton was to the effort. "He'd primed himself to match the muscle of Canterbury's Mark O'Meley and Willy Mason and produced as good a performance as he's given since 2003, when he made the Australian squad as a young prop."[2]
In Round 4, in response to Scott Prince complaining about off-the-ball play, Joel Clinton was interviewed for his personal view on dirty tricks in the NRL: "If stuff happens on the field you leave it on the field. I never take anything off the field. I don't like to go home and whinge about it." [3]
In Round 5, Joel Clinton was criticised for the amount of penalties he conceded in the game, and season generally. However, Clinton continues to top the work rates in the Panthers side.[4] Clinton is still eager to do more, as Peter Sterling (Channel 9 commentator) noted, Clinton appears to be under-utilised by the Panthers, often building up a head of steam before being cut out by a skip-pass. Pundits claim that exploiting Clinton's incredible natural ability is crucial to 2007 success for the Panthers.
2006 season
The Panther's first loss of the season came against the Raiders, a close, golden-point match. During the match, Clinton was hit by a high tackle by Raiders hooker Simon Woolford. Clinton copped a black eye, but got up off the ground smiling, and continued playing. However, Clinton's ability to brush off any hit, no matter how hard, left Woolford claiming the high tackle wasn't that serious. These comments left Clinton steaming, saying "[Woolford] should learn to keep his mouth shut."
In the second Panther's loss against the Melbourne Storm, Joel Clinton was a shining light in a lacklustre looking Panthers side. The Panthers conceded numerous soft tries, but Clinton kept chasing and defending as hard as ever.
In May 2006, Clinton was selected to trial for the NSW State of Origin team in the Country v. City game. Clinton played for City, and before the game commented that he intended to "smash his way into the NSW side." Clinton saved a certain try in the first 20 minutes, diving on a cross-kick into the in-goal by Country. City eventually lost by 2 points, conceding tries while Clinton was off the field.
Manly five-eighth Travis Burns branded Joel Clinton as "childish" and a "bad sport" for allegedly squirting him with a water bottle while lining up a match-winning penalty goal in Round 20 (23 July, 2006). Viewing the replay, it appears that Clinton was standing over 10 metres away from Burns, leading Coach John Lang to comment "it must've been a bloody big squirt".
Golf
Joel began golfing when fellow Panther Craig Gower invited him out for a round. Ever since, Joel has enjoyed his golf, playing two rounds most weeks, and now averages a 73 over 18 holes. Joel describes golf as "very relaxing, and a chance to get away from everything".
Clinton has entered numerous Pro-am events in Australia, and recalls his favourite golfing moment as "when I won the longest drive by an amateur and I won a TV for that, plus my drive was only just short of the pro who won the overall longest drive."
Clinton also recounts his worse golfing moment as when "there was a competition for the closest to the pin where the winner got a holiday. The Channel Nine 'Footy Show' team and about 2000 people were there and my shot went just five metres." [5]
Joel's other hobbies include water skiing, snow boarding, and fishing.
Tats
After winning the 2003 NRL Premiership, Joel Clinton got a tattoo of a giant snarling Panther on his right shoulder - a reminder of the feats of the past. [6]