1. Samuel Arthur Thaiday is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League, serving as their captain from 2012 until 2013.
59 Facts About Sam Thaiday
1. 2.
On 6 July 2018, Sam Thaiday announced his intention to retire from the NRL at the end of the 2018 season.
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Sam Thaiday currently plays for the Samford Stags in the Brisbane open men's division 2 competition.
4.
Sam Thaiday was born in Sydney, New South Wales and moved to Townsville, Queensland at the age of four years.
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Sam Thaiday played junior rugby league for the Brothers club in Townsville as well as attending Kirwan State High School.
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Sam Thaiday then moved to Brisbane to complete a degree in medicine and resided at St Leo's College.
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Sam Thaiday graduated with a GPA of 6.75 and was part of the Leo's executive team with the renowned title, 'Shed'.
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Sam Thaiday's father, Billy, was born on Yam Island in the Torres Strait and was working on Thursday Island, before becoming part of the Royal Australian Air Force.
9.
Sam Thaiday signed up for RAAF, when needed the RAAF needed men and women from the Torres Strait Islands to serve in mainland Australia.
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Sam Thaiday was signed in 2002 by the Brisbane Broncos after coach Wayne Bennett watched him brawl with Sonny Bill Williams and Tom Learoyd-Lahrs in an under-17s interstate game.
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Sam Thaiday followed it up with 8 appearances off the bench in the 2004 NRL season, before featuring in 14 matches in the 2005 NRL season.
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Sam Thaiday started for the first time in his career in Round 2 of that season played the other 13 matches off the bench.
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Sam Thaiday scored his first career try in Round 26 of 2005 against the Parramatta Eels.
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Sam Thaiday was selected on the bench for the following two games for the Maroons, who went on to win the series.
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Sam Thaiday was selected for his international debut for the Australian national team in Game 2 of the 2006 Tri-Nations against New Zealand after concussion ruled Willie Mason out.
16.
Sam Thaiday struggled to find a place in the Broncos side in 2007, bouncing from between the bench and the starting back row while lining up at lock and five-eighth.
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Sam Thaiday made his 50th first-grade appearance in the NRL in 2007 and re-signed with the Broncos until the end of 2009.
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Sam Thaiday was named in the Australia training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, however did not make the final squad.
19.
Sam Thaiday was named man of the match in the second game of the series.
20.
At club level, Sam Thaiday continued to consistently perform for Brisbane.
21.
The NRL match review committee chairman Greg McCallum issued Sam Thaiday a warning for his repeat infringements and threatened him with a ban.
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McCallum said that Sam Thaiday was treading a fine line rushing in to "protect" teammates he felt had been aggrieved.
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Sam Thaiday continued his consistent performances for Brisbane, cementing his place as a starter in the side.
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Sam Thaiday featured in all 5 of Australia's test matches, all as a starter.
25.
In 2011 it was announced that Sam Thaiday would be the Broncos' captain for the following season, taking over from the retiring Darren Lockyer despite the return to the club of former Broncos favourite Petero Civoniceva.
26.
Sam Thaiday featured in all 3 matches in the State of Origin.
27.
On 3 November 2011 The annual RLIF Awards dinner was held at the Tower of London and Sam Thaiday was named second-row forward of the year.
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Sam Thaiday again featured in the front row sporadically in the 2012 season this was mostly due to injury.
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Sam Thaiday played for Australia in its victory in the 2012 ANZAC Test against New Zealand.
30.
Sam Thaiday played in Game I of the 2012 State of Origin series but had to pull out of Game II with a shoulder injury.
31.
An inconsistent season saw the Broncos miss the finals for the first time since 2010, with Sam Thaiday criticised for not getting the team on track for "Life after Locky".
32.
Sam Thaiday was selected for Australia in the 2013 ANZAC Test and played at second-row forward.
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Sam Thaiday played at second-row forward in all three games, and scored a try in the 2nd game, of the 2013 State of Origin series in which Queensland extended its record for consecutive series victories to eight.
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Sam Thaiday featured 5 times for Australia in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, playing a key role in their success.
35.
In 2014, Sam Thaiday failed to play 20 games for the first time since 2007, missing much of April and all of May through injury.
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Sam Thaiday had stepped down as captain, with Corey Parker leading the side.
37.
Sam Thaiday was again moved from his standard second-row position, this time playing Lock in the back half of the season, as the Broncos again finished eighth and again were eliminated in the first week by the Cowboys.
38.
Sam Thaiday missed Game 1 of the 2014 State of Origin series but returned to play in the second and third games as Queensland lost the series for the first time since 2005, marking the first time in his Origin career that Sam Thaiday had lost a series.
39.
Sam Thaiday missed the ANZAC test but reclaimed his spot for the 2014 Four Nations.
40.
In 2015, Sam Thaiday returned to his best under supercoach Wayne Bennett.
41.
Sam Thaiday started the season switching between the second row, prop, lock and the bench, before cementing a spot at prop in Round 18 and holding it for the remainder of the season.
42.
Sam Thaiday featured in all 3 games of Queensland's successful Origin campaign and featured in Australia's victorious ANZAC Test.
43.
In 2016, Sam Thaiday was selected to play for Queensland in the 2016 state of origin series.
44.
Sam Thaiday told Fittler "It was a bit like losing your virginity, it wasn't very nice but we got the job done".
45.
Sam Thaiday began the season coming off the bench returned to his usual position in the second row after Round 19.
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Sam Thaiday featured in all 3 Origin games was relegated to the bench for Australia, playing the entire 2016 Four Nations in that role.
47.
In 2017, Sam Thaiday's decline was showcased to the rugby league community.
48.
Sam Thaiday spent much of the 2017 NRL season on the bench, sporadically appearing in the back row, before finding a spot at hooker then at prop by the end of the season.
49.
Sam Thaiday was relegated to the bench for Queensland under new coach Kevin Walters, before being dropped entirely following Queensland's Game 1 defeat, ending his Origin career.
50.
On 6 July 2018, Sam Thaiday announced his retirement from rugby league in bizarre circumstances.
51.
Sam Thaiday dressed as an elderly man and had called a press conference outside a Brisbane retirement home to confirm he would draw the curtain on his 16-season career.
52.
Sam Thaiday explained why he had dressed in such a way saying "I've always been a bit different in everything I've done but I've always been true to myself and done things my way".
53.
In Round 22 of the season, Sam Thaiday played his 300th first-grade match, ironically against the Cowboys.
54.
Sam Thaiday is widely considered an NRL great, appearing in 304 matches, all for the Brisbane Broncos.
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Sam Thaiday featured 29 times for Queensland, becoming a key piece of the side which won 10 Origin titles in 11 seasons.
56.
Sam Thaiday represented his country 34 times, winning a Tri-Nations, 3 Four Nations and a World Cup title.
57.
Since 2017, Sam Thaiday has been an ambassador for the Starlight Foundation.
58.
In 2023, Sam Thaiday was named as an ambassador for Beef and Livestock Australia's Christmas red meat campaign.
59.
On 16 February 2025, Sam Thaiday was announced that winner of the 2025 season of I'm a Celeb.