Mitchell Barnett

Mitchell Barnett (born 15 April 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or  forward for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL).

He previously played for the Canberra Raiders and Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League.

Background
Barnett was born in Taree, New South Wales, Australia.

He started his junior rugby league career with Wingham Tigers Junior Rugby League in 1999, and remained with Wingham JRL until the end of under-16s in 2011, when he was signed by the Newcastle Knights.

Early career
After playing in the lower grades at the Newcastle Knights, Barnett joined the Canberra Raiders. In 2013 and 2014, he played for Canberra's NYC team.

2015
In 2015, Barnett graduated to Canberra's New South Wales Cup team, Mount Pritchard Mounties. On 10 April, he re-signed with Canberra on a two-year contract. On 3 May, he played for the New South Wales Residents against the Queensland Residents.

In round 22 of the 2015 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for Canberra against the Wests Tigers. On 27 September, he won the 2015 New South Wales Cup Player of the Year award and was named at second-row in the 2015 New South Wales Cup Team of the Year. In November, after Barnett's management discovered his new Canberra contract for the next two seasons hadn't been lodged with the NRL, he opted to instead attempt to sign a more lucrative deal with the Gold Coast Titans. However, after Canberra threatened legal action, the signed contract was discovered and lodged, Barnett returning to Canberra to honour the deal.

2016
On 8 May, Barnett played for the New South Wales Residents against the Queensland Residents for a second year in a row.

On 8 June, he re-joined the Newcastle Knights effective immediately on a contract until the end of 2017, after being released from the final two years of his Canberra Raiders contract. He made his Newcastle debut in round 14 against the New Zealand Warriors. He played nine games for Newcastle in his first season at the club as they finished bottom of the table.

2017
In March, Barnett re-signed with the Newcastle club on a three-year contract until the end of 2020. He made a total of 22 appearances and scored four tries for Newcastle as the club finished last on the table.

2018
Barnett played 23 games for Newcastle in the 2018 NRL season as the club finished 11th on the table.

2019
In round 11 against the Sydney Roosters, Barnett kicked two goals, with one from the sideline, after regular kicker Kalyn Ponga went off the field with an injury. In December, Barnett re-signed with the Newcastle club on a three-year contract until the end of 2023.

2020
Barnett played 13 games for Newcastle in the 2020 NRL season. He played in Newcastle's first finals game since 2013 which was a 46-20 loss against South Sydney in the elimination final.

2021
Barnett played 24 games for Newcastle in the 2021 NRL season including the club's elimination finals loss against Parramatta.

2022
In round 3 of the 2022 NRL season, Barnett was sent off for using a raised elbow on opponent Chris Smith during Newcastle's 38-20 loss against Penrith, and was subsequently referred to the NRL Judiciary for an ungraded dangerous contact charge. Barnett had pleaded guilty and claimed the contact was careless, however, it was found to be reckless in nature, with a six match suspension handed down in relation to the incident.

In April, Barnett signed a three-year contract with the New Zealand Warriors starting in 2023, after gaining a release from the final year of his Knights contract.

2023
In round 19 of the 2023 NRL season, Barnett scored two tries for New Zealand in their 46-10 victory over Parramatta. Barnett played 15 games for the New Zealand Warriors in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 4th on the table and qualified for the finals. Barnett played in all three finals games as the club reached the preliminary final stage before being knocked out by Brisbane.

2024
Barnett was selected to play off the bench for New South Wales for game three of the 2024 State of Origin series. New South Wales would win the match 14-4 in Brisbane to claim the shield for the first time since 2021.

Statistics
* denotes season competing