JJ Collins Felise (born 15 February 1996) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Dolphins as a prop in the National Rugby League (NRL).

JJ Collins
Collins (né Felise) in 2016
Personal information
Full nameJJ Collins
BornJacob Junior Felise
(1996-02-15) 15 February 1996 (age 28)
Logan City, Queensland, Australia
Height184 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight105 kg (16 st 7 lb)
Playing information
PositionProp
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2016–17 Wests Tigers 13 0 0 0 0
2018 Newcastle Knights 2 0 0 0 0
2019 Canberra Raiders 1 0 0 0 0
2023 Dolphins 3 0 0 0 0
Total 19 0 0 0 0
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2018 NSW Residents 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]
As of 10 January 2024

He previously played for the Canberra Raiders, the Newcastle Knights and the Wests Tigers in the NRL. More recently, Collins has played regional rugby league in the Queensland Hostplus Cup for the Tweed Heads Seagulls and the Central Queensland Capras, a feeder club for the Dolphins NRL team.

Background

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Collins was born in Logan City, Queensland, Australia, of Samoan descent. He was formerly known as Jacob Junior Felise[2] and JJ Felise, before changing his name to JJ Collins.[3][4]

Collins played his junior rugby league for the Logan Brothers and attended Keebra Park State High School, before signing with the Wests Tigers as a teenager.

Playing career

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Early career (2013–2014)

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While attending Keebra Park High School, Collins was a member of their 2013 ARL Schoolboy Cup winning side. He also represented the Queensland Schoolboys in 2013 and 2014.[5][6][7]

wests Tigers (2015–2017)

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In 2015 and 2016, Collins played for the Wests Tigers' NYC team, including twenty-one games in 2015.[8][9]

In January 2016, he was named in the Queensland Academy of Sport under-20s squad.[10]

In round 7 of the 2016 NRL season, Collins made his NRL debut for the Tigers against the Melbourne Storm.[11][12] Coach Jason Taylor said his debut was, "was a tough game that went into extra time and he just didn’t look out of place for a second, which when you stop and think about it, is an incredible thing for a prop on debut against that pack."[13] On 1 June, he re-signed with the Tigers on a two-year contract until the end of 2018.[14] He played in 8 games for the season, all from the interchange bench.[15]

In the 2017 NRL season and suffering some recurring injuries, Collins only made five NRL appearances for the season and did a lengthy stint in reserve grade.[16]

Newcastle Knights (2018)

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Ahead of round 16 of the 2018 season, Collins joined the Newcastle Knights effective immediately after not being able to break into the Tigers' NRL side all season.[17] After spending some time in the Newcastle reserve-grade side, he made his club debut in round 21 against his former team, the Wests Tigers.[18] Collins subsequently played one more NRL match for Newcastle.[19][20]

Canberra Raiders (2019)

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In round 6 of the 2019 NRL season, Collins made his club debut for the Canberra Raiders in their 26–22 win against the Brisbane Broncos at GIO Stadium.[21][22]

Hostplus Cup (2021–2022)

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In 2021 and 2022, Collins played thirty-nine games and scored four tries for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the Hostplus Cup, Queensland's regional competition.[23]

In May 2022, he signed a contract to join the newly licensed Dolphins side ahead of the 2023 NRL season.[24]

Dolphins (2023)

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Collins commenced 2023 playing four games in the Hostplus Cup for the Central Queensland Capras, a feeder club for the Dolphins NRL team.[25] In round 7 of the 2023 NRL season, Collins made his club debut as an interchange for the Dolphins in their 14–36 loss to the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Suncorp Stadium.[26] At the end of the season, Collins' departure from the club was announced.[27]

References

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  1. ^ "JJ Felise - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Young guns to make NRL debuts - Tigers". weststigers.com.au. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  3. ^ Polkinghorne, David (28 November 2018). "Emre Guler and JJ Collins set sights on filling big Raiders boots". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Raiders Sign JJ Collins". Canberra Raiders. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  5. ^ "JJ Felise - Tigers". weststigers.com.au. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  6. ^ "2013". NYC DATABASE. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  7. ^ "ASSRL 18 Years Championships". QRL. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  8. ^ "F". Nyc Database. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  9. ^ "NYC Team Announcement: Round 1 vs. Warriors - Tigers". weststigers.com.au. March 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  10. ^ "Broncos young guns dominate QAS U20s". QRL. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  11. ^ "Updated team lists: Wests Tigers v Storm". NRL.com. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  12. ^ "Late Changes: NRL Round 7 vs. Storm - Tigers". weststigers.com.au. Archived from the original on 28 April 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  13. ^ Dan Talintyre (25 October 2016). "Making the Leap: JJ Felise". weststigers.com.au.
  14. ^ "wests Tigers secure JJ Felise". Zero Tackle. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  15. ^ Dollin, Shawn; Ferguson, Andrew. "Custom Match List - Rugby League Project". rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  16. ^ Dollin, Shawn; Ferguson, Andrew. "Custom Match List - Rugby League Project". rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  17. ^ Marson, Stephen (27 June 2018). "Tigers confirm Felise release, Clark signing - Zero Tackle". zerotackle.com. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  18. ^ "Late Mail: Ponga playing as Brown confirms final 17". newcastleknights.com.au. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  19. ^ Dollin, Shawn; Ferguson, Andrew. "Custom Match List - Rugby League Project". rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  20. ^ Toohey, Barry (6 October 2018). "COLUMN - Toohey's News – Eels veteran Jennings in Knights sights". theherald.com.au. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  21. ^ "Raiders roll on in NRL and beat Brisbane". Canberra Times.
  22. ^ Marson, Stephen (26 November 2018). "Raiders sign JJ Felise - Zero Tackle". zerotackle.com. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  23. ^ https://www.qrl.com.au/players/qrl-premiership/central-queensland-capras/jj-collins/ [bare URL]
  24. ^ "Keebra Park and Tweed Seagulls product JJ Collins links up with first Dolphins NRL squad". goldcoastbulletin.com.au.
  25. ^ https://www.qrl.com.au/players/qrl-premiership/central-queensland-capras/jj-collins/ [bare URL]
  26. ^ "Dolphins v Rabbitohs".
  27. ^ "2023 NRL Signings Tracker: Alamoti, Schneider join Penrith". www.nrl.com.
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