Clinton Schifcofske

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Clinton Schifcofske
Moranbah, Queensland, Australia
Playing information
Height183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight93 kg (14 st 9 lb)[1]
Rugby league
PositionFullback, Wing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1996–97 South Queensland 23 7 40 0 108
1998–00 Parramatta Eels 72 21 180 0 444
2001–06 Canberra Raiders 139 44 432 12 1052
2010–11 Crusaders RL 47 6 120 0 264
Total 281 78 772 12 1868
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2002–06
Queensland
 2 0 2 0 4
2005 Prime Minister's XIII 1 0 4 0 8
Rugby union
Position
Wing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2006–08 Queensland Reds 23 3 70 0 197
2007
Ballymore Tornadoes
 8 2 20 0 82
2008–10 Ulster 30 1 22 0 65
Total 61 6 112 0 344
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2007 Australia A 4 2 25 0 66
Source: [2][3][4]

Clinton Schifcofske (born 10 November 1975), also known by the nickname of "Choka", is an Australian former professional

Celtic League competition and also he spent a year with Queensland Reds in Super Rugby
. .

Background

Schifcofske was born in Moranbah, Queensland, he is of Polish descent, his parents were both born in Australia to Polish parents.[7]

Rugby league

Schifcofske made his first grade debut for the now defunct South Queensland side in Round 5 1996 against the North Sydney Bears at North Sydney Oval.[8] However his rookie season was marred by a five match suspension after testing positive for a banned testosterone-based supplement.[9]

The following year, Schifcofske made 17 appearances for the club as they finished last on the table for the second consecutive year. Schifcofske played in South Queensland's last ever game as a club which was against Western Suburbs which South Queensland won 39–18 with Schifcofske scoring a try and kicking 7 goals.[10]

In 1998, Schifcofske joined Parramatta and played every game of the 1998 season as the club finished 4th on the table.

Schifcofske scored a try in the first half of the match as Parramatta took a 10–2 lead going into half time. With Parramatta leading 18–2 with less than 10 minutes to play, Canterbury staged a comeback scoring 3 tries in 8 minutes with Canterbury player Daryl Halligan kicking 2 goals from the sideline to tie the game at 18-18. Parramatta player Paul Carige then made a series of personal errors which cost Parramatta dearly in extra time with Canterbury going on to win 32–20.[citation needed]

In 1999, Parramatta finished 2nd on the ladder and qualified for the finals with Schifcofske playing every match. Parramatta went on to reach the preliminary final against Melbourne. Parramatta lead the match 16–0 at halftime before a second half capitulation similar to what happened a year earlier occurred with Melbourne winning 18–16.

In 2000, Parramatta finished 7th and qualified for the finals with the media dubbing the team "The Baby Eels" due to the age of the squad. Parramatta and Schifcofske would reach their third consecutive preliminary final with the opponents being favorites Brisbane. Brisbane went on to win the match 16–10. This would be the last game Schifcofske would play for the club and he was released at the end of 2000. Schifcofske then signed with Canberra.[11][12][13]

In 2001 and 2004 Schifcofske was named the

Queensland Maroons side for the 2006 State of Origin series decider. He was the Maroons' third fullback for the series after Matt Bowen
was dropped after Game One.

During the middle of the 2006 season he made the decision to switch codes from Rugby League to Rugby Union signing a two-year deal with the Queensland Reds for the 2007 season. During the 2006 season, one of Schifcofske's penalty goal attempts in a match against the Wests Tigers was the subject of Ray Warren's commentary; as he was taking the shot, Warren called the words: "Eddie Jones (who was at the time the coach of the Queensland Reds), if you're watching..." and Schifcofske nailed the shot. In the same match, he nailed a field goal in golden point to win Canberra the match. He had the best goal kicking success rate in the NRL ahead of both Andrew Johns and Hazem El Masri. His final NRL match was played at Telstra Stadium on 9 September 2006 against the Canterbury Bulldogs where the Raiders were knocked out of the finals race. He finished the 2006 NRL season as the Raiders' top point-scorer. Schifcofske ran 3,741 metres with the ball in 2006, more than any other player in the competition.[14]

Schifcofske's 1,604 points in first grade placed him 9th in Australian rugby league's all-time top point scoring list.

Rugby union

Schifcofske's Rugby Union career started when the

Junior All Blacks
.

Schifcofske is weighing up a two-year offer from the Reds as well as interest from five other clubs, including a large deal from

NRL club and Perpignan-based Super League franchise Catalans Dragons, while other interest comes from rugby union clubs in England and Japan.[16]

It has since been confirmed that he will be leaving the Reds at the end of the 2008 Super 14 season, and joining the Irish province Ulster for three seasons. [citation needed]

Return to rugby league

Midway through 2010's

Super League XV, Schifcofske signed with the Crusaders, returning to rugby league. After Michael Witt suffered a season-ending knee injury, Schifcofske became the team's primary goal kicker. In 20 appearances for the Crusaders in 2010, he scored a team-high 120 points.[citation needed
]

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ "Crusaders Rugby League". web page. Crusaders Rugby League Club. Archived from the original on 21 November 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  2. ^ "Clinton Schifcofske - Playing Career - RLP". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.
  3. ^ "Clinton SCHIFCOFSKE - Player statistics - international stats - It's rugby". www.itsrugby.co.uk.
  4. ^ "loverugbyleague".
  5. ^ "SCHIFCOFSKE JOINS CRUSADERS". Sportinglife. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
  6. ^ "Schifcofske seals Crusaders move". Crusaders. 1 April 2010. Archived from the original on 21 November 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
  7. ^ "Sports Australia – Rugby League News Article: Bulldogs and Tigers celebrate Harmony Day [Mar 15, 2006]". Archived from the original on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
  8. ^ "ARL 1996 Optus Cup - Round 5 - North Sydney Bears 18 def. South Queensland Crushers 4 - RLP".
  9. ^ "Gary Belcher says ASADA players in the should accept doping bans then aim to rebuild their careers | The Courier Mail". www.couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  10. ^ "ARL 1997 Optus Cup - Round 22 - South Queensland Crushers 39 def. Western Suburbs Magpies 18 - RLP".
  11. ^ "Official Player Numbers". Parramatta Eels.
  12. ^ "Top 10 preliminary final heartbreaks". National Rugby League. 23 September 2015.
  13. ^ "Memorable Match: 1998 Preliminary Final". bulldogs.com.au. 12 August 2014.
  14. ^ Proszenko, Adrian (6 May 2012). "Gallen set to smash record". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  15. ^ "Reds name squad for Japan". Queensland Reds. 2 November 2006. Archived from the original on 24 December 2006.
  16. ^ "Schifcofske in high demand". Fox Sports. 23 April 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Canberra Raiders captain
2006 		Succeeded by
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