Kyle Feldt


Kyle Feldt is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL.
Feldt has played for the Prime Minister's XIII, and was a member of the Cowboys' 2015 NRL Grand Final and 2016 World Club Challenge winning sides.

Early life

Feldt was born and raised in Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
He played his junior football for the Norths Thuringowa Devils and Northern Pride and attended Ignatius Park College before being signed by the North Queensland Cowboys. In 2008, Feldt was selected for the Queensland under-16 team. In 2009, he played for the Townsville Stingers in the inaugural season of the Mal Meninga Cup. In 2010, Feldt was selected for the Queensland under-18 team.
Feldt played for the Cowboys NYC team from 2010 to 2012. On 30 August 2011, Feldt was named on the interchange bench in the 2011 NYC Team of the Year. He finished his NYC career as the competition's highest ever point scorer, with 570 points. In the Grand Final against the New Zealand Warriors, Feldt had the chance to win the premiership for the Cowboys, however he missed a simple conversion on the full-time siren, and the Cowboys lost the match in golden point extra time 31-30. On 16 October 2011, Feldt played for the Junior Kangaroos against the Junior Kiwis, playing on the wing in the 28-16 win at Hunter Stadium.
On 2 December 2011, Feldt extended his contract with the Cowboys to the end of the 2014 season.

Playing career

2013

In Round 21, Feldt made his NRL debut for the North Queensland Cowboys against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, on the wing in the 30-12 win at 1300SMILES Stadium. In round 22 against the Penrith Panthers, he scored his first NRL try in the 36-4 win at Penrith Stadium. After the round 23 match against the Gold Coast Titans, in which he scored 2 tries in the 22-10 win at 1300SMILES Stadium, Feldt injured his ankle at training, ending his debut season. Feldt finished his debut year in the NRL with 3 matches and 3 tries. He was awarded the Cowboys Rookie of the Year award.

2014

In February, Feldt played in the Cowboys successful 2014 Auckland Nines squad. He starred in the tournament, finishing as the highest try scorer, alongside Parramatta's Semi Radradra, with 5 tries, and was named Breakout Player of the Tournament. On 26 May, Feldt re-signed with the Cowboys until the end of 2017. After the round 7 loss to the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Feldt spent time in the Queensland Cup for the Northern Pride before earning an NRL recall in Round 24 to replace Matthew Wright, scoring 2 tries in the 22-10 win over South Sydney Rabbitohs. Feldt finished off the season with 7 tries in 10 matches.

2015

In January 2015, Feldt was a member of the newly established QAS Emerging Maroons squad. He again played in the Auckland Nines. Feldt played in Round 2 and Round 3 before spending a big part of the season playing for the Townsville Blackhawks in the Queensland Cup. On 3 May, Feldt represented the Queensland Residents against the New South Wales Residents, playing at centre and scoring a try in the 36-32 win. Feldt returned to first grade in Round 24, scoring a hat-trick of tries in the match against the New Zealand Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium, which the Cowboys won 50-16.
On 4 October, in the Cowboys' Grand Final against the Brisbane Broncos, Feldt scored a try shortly after the full-time siren which levelled the scores and gave Johnathan Thurston a chance to win the match. Feldt scored in the corner after Thurston, pressured by Broncos front rowers Adam Blair and Sam Thaiday, was forced to pass to Michael Morgan, who made a break down the right edge and flick passed to Feldt after drawing a defender. Thurston missed the subsequent kick after it hit the upright. Feldt then produced a kick off that forced a mistake from Broncos halfback Ben Hunt which gave the Cowboys the field position required for Thurston to kick the winning field goal to win the match 17-16. Feldt finished off his premiership winning 2015 NRL season having played in 9 matches, scoring 8 tries and kicking 1 goal.

2016

Feldt played in the Cowboys' 2016 NRL Auckland Nines squad. On 21 February, he was a member of the Cowboys' 2016 World Club Challenge winning side, starting on the wing in the side's 38-4 victory over the Leeds Rhinos at Headingley Stadium. On 5 May, Feldt was named on the wing in QRL journalist Tony Webeck's Queensland Residents team of the past 10 years. After showing good form in the early rounds, Feldt was in contention for the Queensland State of Origin squad but unfortunately after error riddled performances against the Brisbane Broncos and the St George Illawarra Dragons, Feldt missed out on a wing spot to Corey Oates. He finished the season as the Cowboys' top try scorer, with 15 tries in 24 matches.

2017

In January, Feldt was a member of the QAS Emerging Origin squad, and played in the Auckland Nines for the 4th consecutive year. In round 4, he played his 50th NRL game. Soon after, he re-signed with the Cowboys until the end of the 2020 season. In Round 16 against the Penrith Panthers, Feldt scored the try of the year by leaping in the air to catch a cross field kick from Michael Morgan, towering over Panthers winger Josh Mansour to score in the corner and tie the match at 12-12 all with a conversion to come in the 78th minute. Cowboys backup goal kicker Ethan Lowe nailed the kick from the sideline to win the match 14-12. The Cowboys had a finals winning run into the 2017 NRL Grand Final. Feldt started on the wing in the Grand Final against the Melbourne Storm in which they lost convincingly 34-6. For the second straight season, Feldt finished the season as the Cowboys top try scorer with 15 tries in 28 matches.

2018

On 23 January 2018, Feldt starred in the testimonial match for Johnathan Thurston and Cameron Smith, as the Cowboys played their last year grand final opponents the Melbourne Storm. He scored a hat trick of tries, the third try coming from a Johnathan Thurston banana kick on the 5th tackle with 18 seconds to go, to steal a 16-14 victory. In June, in the lead up to Game 2 of the 2018 State of Origin series, Feldt was selected as 19th man for Queensland as cover for the backline. In Round 24, he scored his second NRL hat trick in a 44-6 win over Parramatta.
He finished as the club's top try scorer for the third straight season, with 14 tries from 24 games. On 13 September, he was awarded the Coach's Award at the club's presentation ball.

2019

In the 2019 pre-season, Feldt suffered a serious groin injury, which ruled him out for the first eight weeks of the NRL season. He made his return in the Cowboys' Round 9 loss to the South Sydney Rabbitohs. A week later, he played his 100th NRL game in the Cowboys' 17–10 win over the Parramatta Eels. Feldt played in all 16 of the Cowboys' remaining games following his return from injury, scoring 11 tries and finishing as the club's top try scorer for the fourth consecutive season.
On 11 October, Feldt started on the wing and scored two tries in the Prime Minister's XIII's 52–10 win over the Fiji Prime Minister's XIII side. On 19 October, Feldt was a member of Australia's 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s winning squad. He scored four tries in the tournament, including one in Australia's 24–10 final win over New Zealand.

2020

In February, Feldt was a member of the Cowboys' 2020 NRL Nines winning squad. He and teammate Jason Taumalolo became the first players to win two NRL Nines championships.

Achievements and accolades

Individual

NRL

†Denotes seasons in which Feldt won an NRL Premiership