18 Facts About Cory Paterson

Cory Paterson was born on 14 July 1987 and is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward.

Cory Paterson previously played for the Newcastle Knights, North Queensland Cowboys and the Wests Tigers in the NRL and Hull Kingston Rovers, Leigh Centurions and the Salford Red Devils in the Super League.

Cory Paterson played for the Toronto Wolfpack and Leigh in the Championship.

In 2007, Cory Paterson was promoted to train with the Newcastle Knights first team squad.

Cory Paterson made his debut in round 2 of that year in a win against the St George Illawarra Dragons.

Cory Paterson then toured the United States to visit a number of NFL clubs and trial for the Oakland Raiders as a punter.

Cory Paterson suffered depression during the 2009 season, causing him to miss some NRL matches, but returned to good form on the field in 2010 season, when he was selected for the Indigenous All Stars squad.

In 2011, Cory Paterson represented the Indigenous All Stars again, but midway through the season he was released from his contract by the Knights, a decision made by the club's incoming coach Wayne Bennett.

Cory Paterson was told by the Knights that he was not part of their long-term plans and was free to look elsewhere for 2011 and beyond.

Cory Paterson converted to Islam during the 2011 season, requiring him to fast during daylight hours in the month of August, co-inciding with the Cowboys run-in to the NRL finals series.

Cory Paterson is close to former professional rugby league players Anthony Mundine and Sonny Bill Williams, who both converted to Islam.

Cory Paterson sought advice on fasting as a professional rugby league player from Hazem El-Masri, a devout Muslim who played over 300 first-grade matches for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.

Cory Paterson played 7 games for North Queensland in his first season with the club, he was a member of their qualifying finals series team and scored 4 tries, including a double against the Wests Tigers.

Cory Paterson started the 2012 season of playing representative football for the Indigenous All Stars against the NRL All Stars team, he then played in only 2 NRL matches for the North Queensland Cowboys after half the season had finished due to injuries and indifferent form.

Cory Paterson coached the Hawaiian All-stars rugby league representative team in their match against Queensland Indigenous at Oahu, Hawaii on 27 October 2012.

In September 2015, it was announced that Cory Paterson would join Leigh Centurions for the 2016 RFL Championship.

In December 2017 Cory Paterson joined the Toronto Wolfpack on a two-year deal.

On 5 October 2012, Cory Paterson made a successful boxing debut against Anton Tuilotolava.