Josh Hoffman

Josh Hoffman (born 10 March 1988) is a New Zealand international rugby league footballer who plays as and for the Townsville Blackhawks in the Queensland Cup.

He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos, Gold Coast Titans and Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League, and the Indigenous All Stars.

Hoffman was born in Mackay, Queensland, Australia to a New Zealand Māori father Shane and mother Grace who is of Torres Strait Islands descent.

Hoffman attended Mackay State High School.

During his childhood junior footy playing days in Mackay, he played alongside Ben Barba as well as for Mackay.

Hoffman also played a rugby union, playing at Inside Centre.

He is related to former Brisbane Broncos player Wendell Sailor, St Helens R.F.C. player Ben Barba, South Sydney Rabbitohs player Dane Gagai and Travis Waddell.

Hoffman is of Ngāti Pikiāo descent.

In round 13 of the 2008 NRL season, Hoffman made his NRL debut against the St George Illawarra Dragons, filling in for Karmichael Hunt while he was on Origin duty.

Hoffman played in 2 matches for the Broncos in his debut year, spending most of the year in the under 20's Toyota Cup competition.

Hoffman returned to Broncos squad in round 17 following off season shoulder surgery, playing against the New Zealand Warriors.

He scored his first NRL try in the Broncos 28–14 win at Suncorp Stadium.

Hoffman played in 3 more matches for the Broncos.

Hoffman spent the rest of the year playing for the Redcliffe Dolphins in the Queensland Cup and was also the player of the match for Queensland Residents in their win over the New South Wales Residents.

After the departure of Karmichael Hunt from the club at the end of the 2009 season, the youngster was tipped to take over the fullback position.

He did so, taking over the fullback role for the Broncos in the 2010 season and was awarded the Paul Morgan Medal as the Broncos' best and fairest player of the season.

Hoffman played in 20 matches and scored 7 tries for the Broncos in the 2010 NRL season.

Despite being raised in Queensland, as well as growing-up and playing his junior rugby league football in Mackay, Hoffman chose New Zealand over playing for Queensland and Australia, saying "I enjoyed watching Origin, watching the old greats when I was a kid but growing up I never rarely dreamt about playing Origin, I always wanted to play for New Zealand."

Hoffman has two daughters, Leilani-Grace (who was born in 2013) and Evie (who was born in 2015) with long-term partner Emma Kerr, whom he married on 10 December 2011 at Coral Sea Resort in Airlie Beach.

Hoffman featured in 16 matches and scored 6 tries for the Broncos in the 2011 NRL season.

Hoffman picked up a leg injury in the round 3 clash against the Gold Coast Titans, in the Broncos 14–8 win at Cbus Super Stadium, and that sidelined him until round 13.

Hoffman featured in every Broncos game after coming back from a leg injury from round 13 through to round 26.

However, he injured his leg in the round 26 clash against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the first half and that ended his season.

The injury also meant he was unavailable for the New Zealand national rugby league team for their trans-Tasman test match and 2011 Four Nations tournament squad.

On 26 October 2011, Hoffman extended his contract through to 2015.

He and his wife honeymooned in Hawaii before he returned to Broncos training for the 2012 season.

After his contract resigning, he said that he was keen on shifting from fullback to five-eighth for the 2012 season, replacing retiring club captain Darren Lockyer in the number six jumper.

On 20 April 2012, Hoffman made his international debut for the New Zealand national rugby league team, playing at fullback in the Kiwis 20–12 loss to Australia in the 2012 Anzac Test at Eden Park.

Despite the loss, Hoffman produced a strong performance; making a couple of strong runs/metres with the ball and also making a try-saving tackle on Brisbane Broncos club teammate and Australian Kangaroos centre, Justin Hodges.

During the week before round 23 against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Hoffman was axed to the Redcliffe Dolphins in the Queensland Cup after he was late for training.

Hoffman returned in the next week for the Broncos in round 24 against the Melbourne Storm, playing on the wing in the Broncos 19–18 loss at Suncorp Stadium.

Hoffman played in 23 matches and scored 3 tries for the Broncos in the 2012 NRL season.

Following the 2012 season, Hoffman was selected to play fullback for New Zealand in the post-season trans-Tasman test against Australia at 1300SMILES Stadium.

Australia won the game 18–10.

Despite the loss, Hoffman was one of the best players on the field, producing a try-saving tackle on Johnathan Thurston, making a couple of great touches with the ball and producing a number of good runs with the ball.

Due to the shock arrival of Scott Prince from the Gold Coast Titans, Hoffman was shifted to the wing so that Corey Norman could play at fullback.

Hoffman had a flying start on the wing, scoring 7 tries in his first 6 matches, including a hat-trick in round 3, in the Broncos 32–26 loss against the Melbourne Storm.

Before he played a test for New Zealand, New Zealand rugby league football manager Tony Kemp believed Hoffman "could potentially head into the next World Cup in 2013 as a mainstay in the Kiwis team."

For the 2013 Anzac Test, Hoffman was selected to play for New Zealand at fullback, scoring a try right on half-time in the Kiwis 32–12 loss against Australia at Canberra Stadium.

Hoffman played on the wing until round 20, when Corey Norman was dropped to the Queensland Cup and Hoffman was returned to his preferred position of fullback.