Kyle White (rugby league)

{{Short description|Australian rugby league footballer (1970–2023)}}

{{Infobox rugby league biography

| name = Kyle White

| image =

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption =

| fullname =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1970|01|12|df=y}}

| birth_place = Fairfield, New South Wales, Australia

| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|03|21|1970|01|12|df=y}}

| death_place = Penrith, New South Wales, Australia

| height = {{convert|177|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}

| weight = {{convert|94|kg|stlb|abbr=on}}

| position = {{rlp|PR|SR}}

| club1 = Canterbury Bulldogs

| year1start = 1989

| year1end = 91

| appearances1 = 24

| tries1 = 4

| goals1 = 0

| fieldgoals1 = 0

| points1 = 16

| club2 = Western Suburbs Magpies

| year2start = 1992

| year2end = 95

| appearances2 = 34

| tries2 = 2

| goals2 = 0

| fieldgoals2 = 0

| points2 = 8

| club3 = Workington Town

| year3start = 1994

| year3end = 95

| appearances3 = 20

| tries3 = 1

| goals3 = 0

| fieldgoals3 = 0

| points3 = 4

| club4 = Illawarra Steelers

| year4start = 1996

| year4end =

| appearances4 = 9

| tries4 = 1

| goals4 = 0

| fieldgoals4 = 0

| points4 = 4

| club5 = Widnes Vikings

| year5start = 1998

| year5end =

| appearances5 = 2

| tries5 = 0

| goals5 = 0

| fieldgoals5 = 0

| points5 = 0

| source = {{cite book|last=Collis|first=Ian|title=The A to Z of Rugby League Players|year=2018|publisher=New Holland Publishers|isbn=9781921024986}}

| updated =

}}

Kyle White (12 January 1970 – 21 March 2023) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Western Suburbs Magpies and the Illawarra Steelers in the NSWRL and ARL competitions. White also played for Widnes and Workington Town in England.

Rugby league career

White, a forward, was a student at Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield and earned Australian Schoolboys honours in 1987. From 1989 to 1991, White played first-grade for Canterbury as a second rower and amassed 24 premiership appearances. He captained Canterbury at Under 21s level.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122096975 |title=Raiders U21s slow off mark |newspaper=The Canberra Times|date=1 April 1990 |accessdate=6 July 2019 |page=14 |via=National Library of Australia}}

White transferred to Western Suburbs in 1992 and made a switch to the front row, playing as a prop.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126929030 |title=White shines out in game against Knights |newspaper=The Canberra Times|date=15 June 1992 |accessdate=6 July 2019 |page=27 |via=National Library of Australia}} Some of his first-grade games for Western Suburbs were with younger brother Josh, a five-eighth and halfback. During this period, White had a stint in England with Workington Town.{{cite news |last1=Hadfield |first1=Dave |title=Rugby League: White welcomed |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby-league-white-welcomed-1447749.html |work=The Independent |date=9 September 1994 |language=en}}

After finishing his Australian career with a season at Illawarra in 1996, White had another stint in England, where he captained Widnes for two seasons.{{cite news |title=Kyle Bids Farewell to Widnes |url=https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/5310386.kyle-bids-farewell-to-widnes/ |work=Warrington Guardian |date=30 September 1998 |language=en}}

Personal life

During his time in Widnes he owned and ran Kelly's pub in the town centre. He was also noted to be a talented musician.{{cite web|url=https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/kyle-white-personal-problems-brothers-frantic-search/850cc0db-8721-4368-9570-666b2efe9211/|title=Former first-grader Kyle White hits rock bottom, sparking brother's frantic search|website=wwos.nine.com.au}} In 2006, White contracted pneumonia and spent two weeks in a coma during which time his son, Levi, was born. He also had a stepdaughter, Eliza, who he helped raise from an early age.{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/he-hit-like-a-truck-and-died-with-cte-the-tragedy-of-league-cult-hero-20231217-p5es0o.html |title=He hit like a truck … and died with CTE. The tragedy of league cult hero |newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald |date=18 December 2023}}

In 2019, when White lived in Queensland he was reported to have struggled with alcoholism and a brief period of homelessness. In early 2020, he returned in Sydney and a few months later was engaged to Melanie Sullivan. On 21 March 2023, he died from a heart attack at the home they shared in Penrith at the age of 53.{{cite web|url=https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/news-2023-the-mole-exclusive-kyle-white-dead-at-53/d054ca5b-7e2a-41f1-87aa-f0b5e8ab0d1e|title=Former league star Kyle White, cult hero known for big hits, dead aged 53|website=wwos.nine.com.au}} His brain was donated by Melanie Sullivan to research and the Australian Sports Brain Bank found that White had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) which is linked to repeated trauma to the head.