Chris Houston (rugby league)

Background

Born in Narooma, New South Wales, Houston played his junior football for the Narooma Devils before being signed by the St. George Illawarra Dragons. Houston played for the Dragons' Premier League reserve-grade team in 2006.

Playing career

In round 3 of the 2007 NRL season, Houston made his NRL debut for St. George Illawarra against the North Queensland Cowboys.

In late 2007, Houston signed a contract with the Newcastle Knights starting in 2008. In round 13 of the 2008 NRL season, Houston made his first appearance as a captain due to the Newcastle Knights regular captain Kurt Gidley and vice-captain Steve Simpson being unavailable for the match. In March 2010, Houston was served with a notice to attend court on charges of supplying ecstasy and cocaine. He voluntarily terminated his contract with the Newcastle club.

On 17 December 2010, Houston was cleared of all charges On 23 December 2010, due to being cleared of all charges, Houston signed a new two-year contract with the Newcastle Knights starting in 2011.

On 31 July 2012, Houston re-signed with Newcastle on a two-year contract.

Houston made 992 tackles in the 2012 season, averaging over 41 tackles a game, the most of any player in the National Rugby League.

On 31 October 2014, Houston re-signed with Newcastle on a two-year contract. On 2 December 2015, Houston signed a two-year contract with Super League side Widnes Vikings starting in 2016, after being told he was free to look elsewhere by incoming Knights coach Nathan Brown.

On 11 July 2017, it was announced that Houston had signed an extension of his contract with Widnes, keeping him at the club until the end of 2018.

Representative career

In 2009, Houston was named 18th man for New South Wales in Game 3 of the 2009 State of Origin series, however he didn't play.

In 2011, Houston played for Country against City in the annual City vs Country Origin match.

References

References

1. [https://www.loverugbyleague.com/stats/players/Chris-Houston loverugbyleague]
2. [http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/chris-houston/summary.html Rugby League Project]
3. "rleague.com - Houston, Chris".
4. Proudman, Dan. (1 March 2010). "Knights' Chris Houston to face drug supply charges". smh.com.au.
5. "Latest rugby league news and rumours". Zero Tackle.
6. (2010-12-17). "Chris Houston cleared of drug charges | Newcastle Herald".
7. "Houston rejoins Knights - Newcastle Knights".
8. "Houston announces re-signing".
9. Brett Keeble. (14 May 2013). "Bennett wields the axe as star duo dropped". The Sydney Morning Herald.
10. (31 October 2014). "Knights sign trio - Knights".
11. "Houston joins Widnes Vikings from Newcastle Knights | NRL". Zero Tackle.
12. "Chris Houston: Widnes Vikings second row signs new deal with club". BBC Sport.