Billy Slater (born 18 June 1983 in Nambour, Queensland) is an Australian rugby league player for the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. He has also played for Queensland. His preferred position is fullback; though he can also play at centre or on the wings. is the 169th day of the year (170th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Jimi Hendrix song, see 1983. ... Nambour is a town situated in south east Queensland, Australia, 101 kilometres north of the state capital, Brisbane. ... Slogan or Nickname: Sunshine State, Smart State Motto(s): Audax at Fidelis (Bold but Faithful) Other Australian states and territories Capital Brisbane Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Quentin Bryce Premier Anna Bligh (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 28  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $158,506 (3rd... Rugby league football is a full-contact team sport played with a prolate spheroid-shaped ball by two teams of thirteen on a rectangular grass field. ... The Melbourne Storm are a professional rugby league football club based in the city of Melbourne, Australia. ... The National Rugby League (NRL) is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. ... The logo of the Queensland State of Origin team The Queensland State of Origin team is arguably Queenslands most prestigious sporting team, and play in the annual 3 match State of Origin series. ... A typical rugby league team consists of thirteen players on the field plus four substitutes on the bench. ...

Playing career

Billy began playing rugby league for the Brothers club in Innisfail, Queensland at only four years old. He continued to make the Innisfail representative side every season until his final year with the club. Rugby league football is a full-contact team sport played with a prolate spheroid-shaped ball by two teams of thirteen on a rectangular grass field. ... Innisfail redirects here. ...

At fifteen years of age he become bored with league so he quit to concentrate on one of his other passions, riding horses. He worked with the famous Waterhouse stable for around half a year before becoming homesick.

He began to play league again after returning home and early in 2001 he drove 20 hours to Brisbane to trial with the Norths Devils. He was offered a contract and after two impressive seasons in the Queensland Cup, he was offered a spot on the Melbourne Storm playing roster. For other uses, see Brisbane (disambiguation). ... The Northern Suburbs Devils are a rugby league club representing the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. ... The Queensland Rugby League (QRL) is the governing body for the sport of Rugby League in Queensland. ...

Melbourne Storm

Slater commenced playing for the Melbourne Storm in 2003 and his impressive debut performance should have seen him awarded the Dally M Rookie of the Year award, but these awards were cancelled by the NRL due to threats of a boycott by the Players Association. He has consistently performed since then. He is notable for his speed, instinctive style of play and an ability to inject himself into games at key moments. Fifteen clubs contested in the 6th National Rugby League premiership, the 96th season of professional rugby league football in Australia. ... The Dally M Awards are named in honour of Australian rugby league great Dally Messenger. ...

2006 season

Slater had a forgettable 2006 season. He was suspended in round 4 for seven matches for kicking Wests Tigers prop John Skandalis. In his comeback game in round 13 against the Sydney Roosters, Slater only played 25 minutes of the second half on the wing and was later found guilty of using a dangerous throw on Roosters centre Ryan Cross. He was suspended for 2 matches. After Slater's second suspension, Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy decided to give Slater some warm up matches for his comeback into first grade with both North Sydney Bears (Melbourne's feeder club in the NSWRL Premier League) and Norths Devils (Melbourne's feeder club in the Queensland Cup). He made his NRL comeback in round 18 playing his preferred fullback position when Melbourne Storm defeated the Brisbane Broncos at Olympic Park 10-4 in front of 15,479 fans. In round 22 against the Wests Tigers, he was given a two match suspension for a late forearm, which was his third suspension for the season. He came back to the main lineup in round 25 against the Canberra Raiders. A few weeks later, he played in his first grand final, where, despite losing he played a fine game. Wests Tigers is a rugby league football club in the National Rugby League (NRL), the premier rugby league competition in Australasia. ... John Skandalis is a front rower for the West Tigers, who won the NRL Premiership Grand Final for the first time on October 2, 2005. ... The Sydney Roosters are a professional rugby league club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, Australia. ... Ryan Cross (born October 6, 1979 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) is an Australian Rugby League player for the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League competition. ... The Melbourne Storm are a professional rugby league football club based in the city of Melbourne, Australia. ... Craig Bellamy (born October 10, 1959 in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory) is a former rugby league player and the current coach of the Melbourne Storm, which compete in the National Rugby League. ... The North Sydney Bears were a former club in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership, the predecessor of the National Rugby League (NRL) as the premier Australian rugby league competition. ... The NSWRL Premier League is a second-tier rugby league competition played in New South Wales, administered by the NSWRL and run concurrently with the National Rugby League (NRL). ... The Northern Suburbs Devils are a rugby league club representing the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. ... The Queensland Rugby League (QRL) is the governing body for the sport of Rugby League in Queensland. ... The Melbourne Storm are a professional rugby league football club based in the city of Melbourne, Australia. ... For information on the current season of the Brisbane Broncos, see Brisbane Broncos 2007. ... An Olympic Park is a venue or group of venues set up when a country hosts the Olympic Games. ... Wests Tigers is a rugby league football club in the National Rugby League (NRL), the premier rugby league competition in Australasia. ... The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. ...

2007 season

Slater had been quiet to start the 2007 season, not taking notice of the Queensland selectors. In round 11, he suffered a badly broken cheekbone against Manly when he tried to charge down former team mate Matt Orford's kick, and collided with teammate Sam Tagataese. On his return from injury, he has been in career best form, scoring 8 tries from 9 appearances and becoming a vital cog in the back line of the Storm, setting up over 20 tries this season. He was part of the 2007 NRL Premiership team, beating Manly Sea-Eagles 34-8. Some felt he was unlucky to miss out on the Clive Churchill medal for best player on the ground for his effort in the game and gaining 182 meters. ^{[1] [2]} The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby League club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. ... Matt Orford is an Australian rugby league player. ... Sam Tagataese (born December 8, 1986 in Wellington, New Zealand) is a rugby league player for the Melbourne Storm. ...

2008 season

He has had a fine start to the 2008 season, scoring 3 tries in Melbourne's 32-18 round one win at the Telstra Dome,one at the Sydney Football Stadium in a third round, 10-6 loss to Sydney Roosters and two at Olympic Park in Melbourne's 26-4 win over the Manly Sea Eagles. This page is for Telstra Dome, Melbourne. ... The Sydney Football Stadium (colloquially known as SFS, and formerly known as Aussie Stadium 2002-2007[1]) was built in 1988 to be the premium rectangular field in Sydney, Australia. ... The Sydney Roosters are a professional rugby league club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, Australia. ... An Olympic Park is a venue or group of venues set up when a country hosts the Olympic Games. ... The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are a team in the National Rugby League (NRL), the premier rugby league football competition in Australia. ...

He is currently being branded the best player in the competition and is likely to be given the chance to wear an Australian fullback jersey in the upcoming test, although, he will have stiff competition from the Sea Eagles Brett Stewart and the experienced Anthony Minichiello from the Roosters. Karmichael Hunt will also be a candidate. He was chosen to play on the 27th of April even though he coped a bad hit to the eye in his game against the cowboys

Representative games

• Queensland: 5 games total for Queensland in the State of Origin

Players are selected to play for the state in which they played their first senior football, hence the name state of origin. Prior to 1980 players were selected for interstate matches on the basis of where they were playing their club football at the time. ...

Trivia

Billy Slater was born on the same day as Melbourne Storm team-mate Cameron Smith. The Melbourne Storm are a professional rugby league football club based in the city of Melbourne, Australia. ... Cameron Smith (born June 18, 1983 in Brisbane, Australia) is a rugby league player for the Melbourne Storm and the Queensland State of Origin Team. ...

Footnotes

Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... For other uses, see 5th October (Serbia). ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Billy Slater Official Profile
• Billy Slater Official Player Statistics
• Billy Slater at the State of Origin official website.
• Billy Slater at the Former Origin Greats website.