Hazem El Masri
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Born | Tripoli, Lebanon | 1 April 1976|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 90 kg (14 st 2 lb)[1][2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Wing, Fullback | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [3] |
Hazem El Masri (
El Masri is a self-identified devout
El Masri, widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkickers ever seen on a rugby league field, scored the second most points (2,418) by any player in NRL history.[6]
Background
El Masri was born in Tripoli, Lebanon on 1 April 1976 to ethnic Lebanese parents, Khaled and Amal.[7] He emigrated to Australia with his family from there in 1988 when he was 11 years old.[4] He began playing soccer at an early age but during his senior years in high school switched to rugby league, joining a local club, the Enfield Federals. While playing for Belmore Boys High School in 1994, El Masri was spotted by Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs development officers and was invited to trials for their Jersey Flegg side. The following year he was elevated to the President's Cup squad.
Playing career
1990s
El Masri debuted in the
El Masri had become a regular member of the Canterbury-Bankstown squad by the 1998 NRL season. Although his side reached the 1998 NRL Grand Final, he did not play in Canterbury's defeat by the Broncos.
In 1999, El Masri made his debut for Lebanon in a Mediterranean Cup game against Morocco. In this match he scored a total of 48 points, the highest number of points ever scored by one player in an international match.[citation needed]
2000s
The Lebanon nation side qualified for their first ever World Cup in 2000, with El Masri as captain. He played in all three of Lebanon's World Cup games, beginning with Lebanon's first ever World Cup Match against New Zealand, which they lost 64–0. El Masri scored three tries and kicked six goals in their next two games, a 24–22 defeat to Wales and a 22–22 draw against the Cook Islands. Lebanon finished the group stage on one point and did not advance. His brother, Samer El Masri, also played for Lebanon during the tournament. In 2001, El Masri debuted for the City New South Wales side in the first of five appearances.
In 2002, El Masri topped the League's point-scoring table for the first time and rejected a $2 million offer from the
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Hazem_el_Masri.jpg/220px-Hazem_el_Masri.jpg)
El Masri broke the
El Masri set the Canterbury-Bankstown club's career points record, surpassing Daryl Halligan during the 2005 NRL season.
In
El Masri broke the 1,900-point record after scoring 14 points in Round 8 of the 2007 NRL season against the Newcastle Knights, defeating them 30–16 and becoming the sixth player to ever surpass that point, along with Graham Eadie, Mick Cronin, Daryl Halligan, Jason Taylor and Andrew Johns. El Masri was called up to Game 3 of the 2007 State of Origin series to make his debut for New South Wales after Jamie Lyon was ruled out through injury.[12] He kicked three conversions from the sideline, and scored the final try, giving him 10 points in total. Also in 2007, Bill Woods published an authorised biography, El Magic: the life of Hazem El Masri.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Hazem_El_Masri.jpg/220px-Hazem_El_Masri.jpg)
El Masri broke the all-time highest NRL career point scoring record in front of a crowd of 19,791 against the
El Masri set the NRL career point-scoring record of 2,418[16][self-published source] points across 317 games, with 159 tries and 891 goals in 1087 attempts at 81.97%.
Post-playing
After his retirement, El Masri made an appearance, kicking a goal, in the opening ceremony of Melbourne's new
Personal life
In 2000, El Masri married a Saudi Arabian-born Palestinian woman, Arwa Abousamra. They have three children. [citation needed]
El Masri is a devout Muslim.[19] He was one of the first Lebanese Australians to step forward in the name of friendship and understanding in the wake of the 2005 Cronulla riots after the clash between predominantly white Cronulla locals and Middle-Eastern Western Sydney beachgoers resulted in violence and increased racial tensions between the groups.[20]
El Masri and his wife split in early 2014.
References
- Woods, Bill (2007). El Magic: The Life of Hazem El Masri. Pymble, N.S.W: HarperCollins Publishers Australia. ISBN 978-0-7322-8402-2.
Footnotes
- ^ a b "Hazem El Masri". thebulldogs.com.au. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
- ^ a b AAP (1 October 2004). "Grand Final pen pics". One News. TVNZ. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
- ^ Rugby League Project
- ^ a b McDonald, Margie (1 July 2009). "Hazem El Masri's points tally a godsend". The Australian. Archived from the original on 15 December 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
- ^ Unknown, Western Sydney University -. "Hazem El Masri, former professional Rugby League player with the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs". www.uws.edu.au. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
- ^ "'It's the toughest thing I've been through in my life'". NewsComAu. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
- ^ Hazem El Masri Archived 14 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine at yesterdayshero.com.au
- ^ Hadfield, Dave (21 July 1997). "El Masri's magnificent hat-trick". The Independent. UK: Independent News and Media Limited. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
- ^ Walton, Darren (24 September 2002). "Fans will wonder how Bulldogs stayed on the leash, says Piggins". Sydney Morning Herald, The. Fairfax Digital. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
- ^ a b Walter, Brad (30 June 2009). "Hazem El Masri announces retirement". Fairfax Digital. Archived from the original on 21 September 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
- ^ Rleague.com – El Masri, Hazem Archived 12 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ El Masri to make Origin debut – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
- ^ Massoud, Josh (29 August 2009). "Hazem El Masri set for Lebanon farewell". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
- ^ "Breaking News, World News and Video from al Jazeera".
- ^ "Eels thunder into grand final". www.abc.net.au. 25 September 2009.
- ISBN 9781483643977.
- ^ Read, Brent (8 May 2010). "Kangaroos shine brightest against New Zealand". The Australian. Australia: News Limited. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
- ^ "El Masri wanted as Liberal candidate". 22 October 2009.
- ^ Michael Winkler (22 March 2012). "6 famously devout NRL players". Sports Fan.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ISBN 978-0-7322-8402-2. Archived from the originalon 6 July 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
- ^ "Former Canterbury Bulldog Hazem El Masri and wife split". Spotal. Archived from the original on 20 June 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
- ^ "Former NRL star Hazem el Masri charged with domestic assault". The Guardian. 20 October 2015.
- ^ "Secret recording led to dropping of domestic violence charges against Hazem el Masri". 14 March 2016.
- ^ "Canterbury Bulldogs legend Hazem el Masri reunites with first wife Arwa". 26 May 2017.