Michael Morgan (rugby league born 1991)

Early years

Born and raised in Townsville, Queensland, Morgan played his junior rugby league for the Townsville Brothers club before joining the North Queensland Cowboys under-20s squad in 2009. In the same year, whilst attending Ignatius Park College, he represented the Queensland Schoolboys under-18s side and was also selected for the Australian Schoolboys side.

2010

In round 9, Morgan made his NRL debut at age 18 for the North Queensland Cowboys against the Sydney Roosters, filling in at halfback for the Cowboys' captain Johnathan Thurston in the Cowboys 32-14 win at the Sydney Football Stadium. On 30 November, Morgan re-signed with the Cowboys for three years. In round 14, against the Canberra Raiders, Morgan scored his first and second NRL tries in the Cowboys 16-8 win at 1300SMILES Stadium. Morgan finished his debut year in the NRL with him playing in 4 matches and scoring 2 tries. On 30 November, Morgan re-signed with the Cowboys for three years to the end of the 2013 season.

2011

Morgan played in 4 matches for the Cowboys in 2011, once again filling in for Johnathan Thurston after he was ruled out for 6 weeks of the season. He spent the majority of the season in the Cowboys' NYC side, playing halfback in the Toyota Cup Grand Final against the New Zealand Warriors, which was lost 31-30 in extra time.

2012

In round 10, Morgan returned to first grade for the Cowboys against the Newcastle Knights. Morgan starred in the game by scoring a try and setting another up in the Cowboys 32-12 win at Hunter Stadium. From round 19 onward, Morgan cemented his halfback spot for the Cowboys after Ray Thompson suffered a shoulder injury. In week 1 of the 2012 finals series, against the Brisbane Broncos, Morgan became the first halfback in the history of the NRL/ARL/NSWRL to score a hat-trick of tries in a finals match in the Cowboys 33-16 win at 1300SMILES Stadium. Morgan played in 13 matches and scored 4 tries in the 2012.

2013

On 9 February 2013, Morgan captained the Cowboys to a 28-24 victory over the Brisbane Broncos in a trial match. He scored a try and set up another in the win. On 10 April, Morgan re-signed with the Cowboys for a further two years. Later that month, Morgan was given three weeks off from first grade duty after the death of best-friend and Cowboys team-mate Alex Elisala. Morgan spent most the year playing with the Mackay Cutters. They won the Queensland Cup Grand Final against the Easts Tigers 27-20, with Morgan dedicating a try to Elisala. Morgan only played 9 matches and scored 2 tries in 2013. In September, Morgan admitted he had stood himself the NRL from being emotionally drained from the death of Elisala.

2014

In 2014, Morgan shifted to fullback for the Cowboys after new signing Lachlan Coote tore his anterior cruciate ligament during the club's Auckland Nines tournament. Due to his form at fullback, he was called into Queensland's State of Origin squad as 19th man for Game III of the 2014 State of Origin series. Following an impressive season at fullback for the Cowboys, including two finals appearances, Morgan was selected on the interchange bench for the Prime Minister's XIII team which defeated Papua New Guinea 34-16 in Kokopo. Morgan spent time at hooker and lock during the game. He finished the 2014 NRL season with him playing in all of the Cowboys 26 matches and scoring a career-high 10 tries.

At the end of 2014, Morgan was named the Cowboys members' player of the year and the most improved player.

2015

In January, Morgan was named in the QAS Emerging Origin squad for the third year in a row. On 27 January 2015, Morgan was named in the Cowboys 2015 NRL Auckland Nines squad. After starting the first two rounds of the season at fullback, Morgan shifted to five-eighth in round 3 against the Brisbane Broncos in the Cowboys 44-22 loss. In round 10, against the Broncos, Morgan scored a hat-trick of tries in a man of the match performance in which the Cowboys won 31-20. Following the return of Lachlan Coote from injury, Michael Morgan shifted to five eighth. North Queensland's spine was instrumental in their success during the 2015 season, with Lachlan Coote, Jonathan Thurston, Morgan, and Jake Granville being named NRL.com's #1 playmaking spine for 2015. After scoring five tries in two weeks, Morgan was called into the Queensland State of Origin team for game I of the 2015 State of Origin series, after Daly Cherry-Evans was ruled out with an elbow injury. Morgan came off the interchange bench in Queensland's 11-10 victory. In Game III of the series, Morgan scored a try with just his third touch of the football and set up two others in Queensland's 52-6 victory over New South Wales. On 4 October 2015, Morgan was a member of the Cowboys' Grand Final winning side, starting at five-eighth in the side's 17-16 victory over the Brisbane Broncos. On the last play of the game, with the Cowboys down by four points, Morgan ran from 20 out, drew three Broncos defenders and got away a one-handed flick pass to send Kyle Feldt over for the match-tying try and sending the game into extra time. Morgan finished his barnstorming 2015 NRL season for Cowboys with him playing in 23 matches and scoring 15 tries.

2016

In February, Morgan played in the Cowboys 2016 Auckland Nines squad. He was then a member of the Cowboys' World Club Challenge winning side, starting at five-eighth and scoring the first try of the match in the match against Leeds Rhinos. After a great start to the season, on 6 May, Morgan was selected to make his international debut for Australia against New Zealand, where he played off the interchange bench in the 16-0 win at Hunter Stadium. Morgan came off the bench for Queensland during games I & II of the 2016 State of Origin series before being ruled out of game III. Morgan returned in round 20 against the Canterbury Bulldogs, putting in a man of the match performance.

On 16 September, Morgan played his 100th NRL game, scoring the match winning try against the Brisbane Broncos in the club's 26-20 elimination semi-final victory.

On 4 October, Morgan was selected in Australia's Four Nations squad. He scored his first test try in Australia's 54-12 over Scotland at KCOM Lightstream Stadium.

2017

On July 6th Morgan was chosen to start at Centre for Queensland in the 3rd game of the State of Origin series. This was his first ever start in the position at First Grade level, and his first start in State of Origin.

Individual

NRL

Personal life

Morgan's great-grandfather, Duncan McIvor, played for Queensland in 1915, 100 years before Morgan made his debut for Queensland. Morgan is the cousin-in-law of Perth Wildcats player Damian Martin.