| Birth date | 1 February 1994 (age 32) |
|---|---|
| Birth place | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Height | 177 cm (5 ft 10 in) |
| Weight | 91 kg (14 st 5 lb) |
| Club 1 | South Sydney |
| Year1start | 2014 |
| Year1end | 16 |
| Appearances 1 | 39 |
| Tries 1 | 6 |
| Goals 1 | 0 |
| Fieldgoals 1 | 0 |
| Points 1 | 24 |
| Club 2 | St. George Illawarra |
| Year2start | 2017 |
| Year2end | 20 |
| Appearances 2 | 91 |
| Tries 2 | 11 |
| Goals 2 | 0 |
| Fieldgoals 2 | 0 |
| Points 2 | 44 |
| Club 3 | Cronulla Sharks |
| Year3start | 2022 |
| Year3end | present |
| Appearances 3 | 100 |
| Tries 3 | 10 |
| Goals 3 | 0 |
| Fieldgoals 3 | 0 |
| Points 3 | 40 |
| Teama | NSW City |
| Yearastart | 2017 |
| Appearancesa | 1 |
| Triesa | 0 |
| Goalsa | 0 |
| Fieldgoalsa | 0 |
| Pointsa | 0 |
| Teamb | Prime Minister's XIII |
| Yearbstart | 2023 |
| Appearancesb | 1 |
| Triesb | 1 |
| Goalsb | 0 |
| Fieldgoalsb | 0 |
| Pointsb | 4 |
| Teamc | New South Wales |
| Yearcstart | 2024 |
| Appearancesc | 1 |
| Triesc | 0 |
| Goalsc | 0 |
| Fieldgoalsc | 0 |
| Pointsc | 0 |
| Retired | no |
| Source | [1] |
| Updated | 29 May 2026 |
Cameron McInnes (born 1 February 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who co-captains and plays as a forward for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League.
He previously played as a for the South Sydney Rabbitohs and St George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League. At representative level he has played for New South Wales in the State of Origin series and New South Wales City.
Background
McInnes was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
He attended Marist College Pagewood and he topped the school in the 2011 HSC for Biology, Business Studies and English.[2] He played his junior football for the Botany Rams before being signed by the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Career
Early career
He played for South Sydney's NYC team from 2012 to 2014 before moving on to the South Sydney New South Wales Cup team, North Sydney three rounds into 2014. He captained the NYC team in 2013 and 2014.[3] In October 2013, McInnes re-signed with the Rabbitohs on a 2-year contract.[4] At the end of 2013, McInnes won South Sydney's NYC Best and Fairest award, Player's Player award and was named on the interchange bench in the 2013 NYC Team of the Year.
2014
In Round 5 of the 2014 NRL season, McInnes made his NRL debut for South Sydney against the St. George Illawarra Dragons.[5] In Round 11, McInnes scored his first ever NRL try (against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks), slicing through defenders 10m out to plant the ball the down.
2015
McInnes was selected twelve times in 2015, playing off the bench, at Hooker and even at times in the back-row. In Round 11, McInnes scored the winning try against the Parramatta Eels, latching onto a pass from fellow hooker, Issac Luke, before diving over the try-line. On 13 May 2015, McInnes re-signed with South Sydney on a two-year contract.[6]
2016
The departure of Isaac Luke to the New-Zealand Warriors gave McInnes the starting role for the South Sydney club. In Round One he opened the scoring, diving under the posts five minutes into South Sydney's 42–10 win over the Sydney Roosters. In Round 5, McInnes was credited with a 'stellar' performance, creating all three tries for the South Sydney club. After scoring two solo tries from dummy half, he then put , Cody Walker through a hole to score in Souths 12–16 win over the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.
As the season went on McInnes would switch between starting and interchange hooker, as him and South Sydney's alternate hooking option, Damien Cook fought for a starting position. By the end of the 2016 season, McInnes had played 19 games, scoring 4 tries with 1 try assist and an impressive 726 tackles. In September 2016, McInnes signed a two-year contract with the St. George Illawarra Dragons starting in 2017, after being released from the final year of his South Sydney contract following their signing of New South Wales State of Origin representative hooker Robbie Farah.[7]
2017
In December 2017, McInnes signed a four-year deal to remain at St George Illawarra until the end of the 2021 season.[8]
2018
In 2018, McInnes was part of the St. George Illawarra side which qualified for the finals and defeated Brisbane 48–18 in week one before being eliminated the following week by South Sydney 13–12.[9]
2019
McInnes made a total of 23 appearances for St. George Illawarra in the 2019 NRL season as the club endured one of their worst seasons finishing in 15th place on the table just above the last placed Gold Coast. Before the season had started, St George Illawarra were expected to reach the finals and challenge for the premiership but only managed to win 7 games all year.[10]
2020
On 19 February, it was announced that McInnes would miss the first 12 weeks of the 2020 NRL season after suffering an MCL injury at the pre-season NRL Nines tournament.[11] Due to the rescheduling of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he managed to return in round 3.[12]
He made a total of 18 appearances for the club in the 2020 NRL season as the side finished a disappointing 13th on the table.[13]
2021
On 2 February, McInnes signed with Cronulla-Sutherland for four years starting in 2022.[14] On 12 February, McInnes suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, ruling him out for the rest of the season and prematurely ending his career with the club.[15]
2022
In round 2 of the 2022 NRL season, McInnes made his club debut for Cronulla in their 18-16 victory over Parramatta.[16] McInnes played 25 games for Cronulla throughout the year as the club surprised many by finishing second on the table. McInnes played in both finals matches as Cronulla were eliminated in straight sets.[17]
2023
In Cronulla's 0-28 loss to the Penrith Panthers in round 22 of the 2023 NRL season, McInnes - playing at lock forward - made 78 tackles, breaking the NRL-era record for most tackles made by a player in a single match previously held by Canberra's Shaun Fensom, who made 74 tackles against Canterbury-Bankstown in 2011.[18] McInnes played a total of 23 games for Cronulla in the 2023 NRL season as Cronulla finished sixth on the table. McInnes played in the clubs 13-12 upset loss against the Sydney Roosters which ended their season.[19]
2024
On 26 May, McInnes was selected by New South Wales ahead of the 2024 State of Origin series following his good form at club level for Cronulla.[20] On 16 June, McInnes was not selected by New South Wales for game two after the fallout of the 38-10 loss in game one of the series.[21] McInnes played 26 matches for Cronulla in the 2024 NRL season as the club finished 4th on the table and qualified for the finals. He played in all three of Cronulla's finals matches including their preliminary final loss against Penrith.[22] On 16 December, the Sharks announced that McInnes had re-signed with the club until the end of the 2026 season.[23]
2025
On 20 August it was announced that McInnes would be ruled out of the rest of the season after suffering a knee injury in Cronulla's round 24 win against the Gold Coast.[24]
Statistics
| Season | Team | Matches | T | G | GK % | F/G | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | South Sydney | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 4 |
| 2015 | 13 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 4 | |
| 2016 | 19 | 4 | 0 | — | 0 | 16 | |
| 2017 | St. George Illawarra | 24 | 4 | 0 | — | 0 | 16 |
| 2018 | 26 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 12 | |
| 2019 | 23 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 12 | |
| 2020 | 18 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 4 | |
| 2022 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 25 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 8 |
| 2023 | 23 | 3 | 12 | ||||
| 2024 | 26 | 2 | 8 | ||||
| 2025 | 22 | 3 | 12 | ||||
| 2026 | 3 | ||||||
| Career totals | 229 | 27 | 0 | — | 0 | 108 | |
City vs Country
| Season | Team | Matches | T | G | GK % | F/G | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | NSW City | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Career totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
References
- ^ "Cameron McInnes - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
- ^ Walter, Brad (2016-04-12). "Russell Crowe criticised Cameron McInnes, now he's being touted as future South Sydney Rabbitohs captain". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
- ^ "Cameron McInnes". South Sydney Rabbitohs. National Rugby League. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
- ^ "Rabbitohs sign Chris Grevsmuhl on two-year deal". Zero Tackle. 2013-10-10. Archived 2016-03-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
- ^ "Late Mail & Team Changes - Rd 5, 2014". South Sydney Rabbitohs. National Rugby League. 2014-04-05. Archived 2018-07-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
- ^ "Rabbitohs Extend Contracts of Alex Johnston and Cameron McInnes Until End of 2017". South Sydney Rabbitohs. National Rugby League. 2015-05-13. Archived 2018-07-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
- ^ "Dragons sign Cameron McInnes". Zero Tackle. 2015-06-12. Archived 2016-09-17 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
- ^ Brundson, Simon (2017-12-07). "St George Illawarra lock down hooker Cameron McInnes with new deal". Fox Sports. Archived 2018-06-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
- ^ Whaley, Pamela (2018-09-15). "NRL finals 2018: Rabbitohs defeat Dragons with Adam Reynolds kicking three field goals". Fox Sports Australia. Archived 2018-09-16 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Chisholm, Ed (2019-09-02). "Paul McGregor facing the axe as St. George Illawarra Dragons coach following horror season". Sporting News. Archived 2019-09-05 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Dragons handed cruel blow with skipper McInnes set to miss up to 12 weeks". Fox Sports Australia. 2020-02-19. Archived 2020-02-18 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Cameron McInnes fired up ahead of Round 3 return. St George Illawarra Dragons. 2020-05-27. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
- ^ O'Loughlin, Liam (2020-10-26). "NRL 2020 Season Review: How will your side fare next year?". Sporting News. Archived 2020-10-26 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Walsh, Dan (2021-02-02). "Sharks lock in McInnes from next year for four seasons". National Rugby League. Archived 2021-02-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
- ^ "Dragons injury update: Cameron McInnes". St George Illawarra Dragons. 2021-02-12. Archived 2021-02-13 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
- ^ "Nicho Hynes tribute to mate after Cronulla beat Parramatta". www.foxsports.com au
- ^ "Young gun who can solve Sharks' big problem; masterstroke that can't be overlooked: Brutal Review". www.foxsports.com.au
- ^ "'A hell of a knock’: McInnes’ mammoth 78-tackle effort to top NRL’s hardiest forwards". www.foxsports.com.au
- ^ "Sydney Roosters score 'wild' 13-12 NRL elimination final win over Cronulla Sharks, Penrith Panthers beat Warriors". www.abc.net.au
- ^ "Blues name six rookies, new captain for Origin opener". www.nrl.com
- ^ "Maroons pick Walsh as Mitchell gets Blues recall". www.theguardian.com
- ^ "The Mole's end of season review: Awkward Sharks puzzle laid bare after $1m star 'lost his way'". www.nine.com.au
- ^ Wrtier, Staff (2024-12-16). "Captain Cam re-signs until the end of 2026". Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
- ^ "Sharks rout Titans but lose McInnes to knee injury". Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. 2025-08-16. Retrieved 2025-08-16.