Jesse Hartigan

NRL & Rugby League Writer · Sydney, New South Wales · Covering rugby since 2016

Jesse Hartigan grew up on Sydney's northern beaches on a diet of Friday-night footy and played junior league through his teens before a knee reconstruction pushed him into writing about the game instead. He cut his teeth on suburban league blogs, went full-time in 2016, and now covers the NRL top to bottom — team lists, State of Origin, the NRLW and the fantasy/SuperCoach grind that consumes every Australian league fan by mid-week. He'll argue the Dolphins were the best expansion side in decades and that the six-again rule changed the sport more than anyone admits. On the USA Rugby News desk he owns the NRL beat — round previews, results, transfer news and the rugby-league angle for our growing Australian readership.