Blake Ayshford
 | ||||||
| Personal information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 15 April 1988 Paddington, New South Wales, Australia | |||||
| Height | 190 cm (6 ft 3 in) | |||||
| Weight | 100 kg (15 st 10 lb) | |||||
| Playing information | ||||||
| Position | Centre | |||||
| Club | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 2009–13 | Wests Tigers | 104 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 132 |
| 2014–15 | Cronulla Sharks | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2016– | New Zealand Warriors | 18 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| Total | 142 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 164 | |
| Source: [1][2] | ||||||
Blake Ayshford (born 15 April 1988) is an Australian professional rugby league player who currently plays for the New Zealand Warriors in the Australian NRL competition. He primarily plays at centre, but can also fill in at five-eighth and lock. He previously played for the Wests Tigers and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
Background
Ayshford played his junior football with the Paddington-Woollahra Tigers and Coogee Randwick Wombats, representing the Junior Kangaroos in 2007 & New South Wales at an under 17s and under 19s level. In 2006 he played for Endeavour Sports High School when they won the Arrive Alive Cup.[3]
Blake's uncle, Bruce, played for Easts in 1969.[4]
Playing Career
Ayshford played in the junior grades with the Sydney Roosters, before signing with the Wests Tigers.
Wests Tigers
Ayshford played for the Tigers' NYC side where, in 2008, he was named the Player's Player of the Year.[5]
He made his first grade debut in Round 11 of the 2009 NRL season, playing against the Brisbane Broncos on 22 May.[6] In June 2009, it was announced that Ayshford had signed a two-year contract to remain with the Tigers until the end of the 2011 season.[7] Later that year he signed an extension to the end of the 2012 season.[8] At the end of the 2009 season, Ayshford was named the Wests Tigers' Rookie of the Year.[9]
Ayshford cemented his position in the centres in 2010. After his form dipped, the threat of being dropped saw an improved performance towards the end of the season.[4] Before the start of the 2011 season, Ricky Stuart named Ayshford in a "Blues in Waiting" squad, for potential future NSW State of Origin players.[10]
In May 2011, Ayshford committed himself to the Wests Tigers for a further 3 years, keeping him at the club until 2015.[11] He played in every game of the 2011 season, scoring 11 tries, and was named the Wests Tigers Members Player of the Year.[12]
Having "bulked-up" for the 2012 season, Ayshford said, "People say it's hard to adjust to playing with extra weight but I feel stronger and fitter when I'm weighing more. It just gives me a bit of confidence to know that I'm playing over 100 kilos."[13] However, 2012 was a relative disappointment, with Ayshford playing from the bench in some games, and scoring a career-low 4 tries. Ayshford later said, "It was the first year I've been on the bench, first time in my life starting on the bench actually. I let myself down in certain areas."[14]
2013 was another disappointing season for Ayshford, with just two tries and four wins from his sixteen appearances. On July 12 2013, it was announced that Ayshford would be joining the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks on a two-year contract from 2014.[15]
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
In Round 1 of the 2014 NRL season against the Gold Coast Titans, Ayshford made his club debut for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at centre in the Sharks 18-12 loss at Remondis Stadium.
New Zealand Warriors
In September 2015 Ayshford signed for the New Zealand Warriors for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.[16]
Footnotes
- ↑ League Central dailytelegraph.com.au
- ↑ http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/blake-ayshford/summary.html Blake Ayshford] rugbyleagueproject.org
- ↑ "Endeavour Retains Arrive Alive Cup". www.nswrl.net. Retrieved 2009-05-30.
- 1 2 Glenn Jackson (3 September 2010). "After catching Sheens' eye, young Ayshford is now kept on his toes". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- ↑ "Tigers re-sign Ayshford". SportsAustralia.com. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
- ↑ James Phelps (22 May 2009). "Brisbane Broncos beat Wests Tigers". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
- ↑ "Tigers secure Blake Ayshford". Daily Telegraph. 10 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
- ↑ "Tigers sign extended deals for trio". Daily Telegraph (Sydney). 19 November 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
- ↑ Wayne Cousins. "ELLIS NAMED PLAYER OF THE YEAR". weststigers.com.au. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
- ↑ "Stuart names 'Blues in waiting'". ABC News. 13 January 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
- ↑ Mute. "Ayshford commits future to Tigers". zerotackle.com.au. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ↑ "Gareth Ellis is Wests Tigers Player of the Year". Ozzie News. 17 October 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
- ↑ Joe Barton (8 December 2011). "Bulked-up Wests Tigers centre Blake Ayshford rules out switch to forwards". Herald Sun. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- ↑ Scott Dougherty (5 March 2013). "Ayshford wants No.3 jersey back". Campbelltown Macarthur Advertiser. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
- ↑ "SHARKS SIGN AYSHFORD ON TWO-YEAR DEAL". Zero Tackle. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
- ↑ "Warriors sign Sharks centre". New Zealand Herald. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.