Few 23-year-olds can say they were named in a Queensland State of Origin squad, then had appendicitis cancel their shot before kick-off — Jack Howarth is that rare case: the Mackay-born Melbourne Storm centre was called into the Maroons’ Game II squad in 2025 and sidelined before he could pull on the jersey.
Age: 23 (born 22 October 2002) · Position: Centre · Club: Melbourne Storm · Origin Eligibility: Queensland (by birth)
Quick snapshot
- Named in Queensland’s Under 19 Origin side in June 2022 (NRL.com (the league’s official site))
- Announced in Melbourne Storm’s 2023 squad and described as contracted through 2027 (Melbourne Storm (his NRL club))
- Named in Queensland’s Game II squad on 9 June 2025 (QRL (Queensland’s rugby league body))
- Exact recovery timeline after June 2025 appendicitis surgery (Melbourne Storm injury report)
- Whether a Queensland Origin debut arrives in 2026 or later (Zero Tackle (rugby league news site))
- Where he plays in 2027 after being allowed to explore options (Zero Tackle (rugby league news site))
- June 2022: named in Queensland Under 19 Origin side (Melbourne Storm player profile)
- June 2025: named in Maroons Game II squad (QRL (Queensland’s rugby league body)) (Melbourne Storm player profile)
- June 2025: appendicitis rules him out of that Origin window (Melbourne Storm injury report) (Melbourne Storm player profile)
- June 2026: quad contusion ends another Origin push (Sporting News Australia (sports outlet))
- Return to full fitness in the Storm centres after quad recovery (Sporting News Australia (sports outlet))
- Fresh Queensland selection conversation once he is back playing (Zero Tackle (rugby league news site))
- 2027 contract resolution after permission to explore options (Zero Tackle (rugby league news site))
Seven facts, one pattern: Howarth’s representative file and his injury file keep pointing back to Queensland.
| Full Name | Jack Howarth |
| Date of Birth | 22 October 2002 |
| Place of Birth | Mackay, Queensland |
| Position | Centre |
| Club | Melbourne Storm |
| NRL Debut | 2023 |
| Representative | New Zealand Māori |
What happened to Jack Howarth?
The short version is simple: Howarth’s NRL career keeps getting interrupted at the exact moments Queensland selectors look ready to call his name.
When did Jack Howarth make his NRL debut?
- Howarth made his NRL debut for Melbourne Storm in 2023, the season after he was announced in the club’s top squad (Jack Howarth player profile (Melbourne Storm)).
- The path there included a Queensland Under 19 State of Origin selection in June 2022 (NRL.com (the league’s official site)).
- Melbourne Storm announced him in its 2023 squad in November 2022, noting he had represented Australian Schoolboys and Queensland Under 18s in 2019 and Queensland Under 19s in 2022 (Melbourne Storm (his NRL club)).
What injury did Jack Howarth suffer?
- June 2025: Storm’s injury report said Howarth had appendicitis and underwent surgery the night before, ruling him out for the next few weeks, including the following Sunday’s game and State of Origin with Queensland (Melbourne Storm injury report).
- March 2026: news.com.au reported he had suffered multiple injuries, including groin and bicep injuries during the grand final period (news.com.au (Australian news outlet)).
- June 2026: Sporting News Australia reported a quad contusion ruled him out just as Origin selection talk was building (Sporting News Australia (sports outlet)).
The appendicitis diagnosis did not just cost Howarth one game. It cost him the exact window Queensland had already opened for him.
The pattern: every time Howarth has put himself in Origin position, injury timing has made the decision for the selectors. The skills are not in question; the availability is.
What nationality is Jack Howarth?
The nationality question follows Howarth because his representative identity crosses two countries: Australian by birth, New Zealand Māori by heritage.
Is Jack Howarth a kiwi?
- Not in the Origin sense. Howarth was born in Mackay, Queensland, on 22 October 2002, which makes him Australian by birth (Jack Howarth player profile (Melbourne Storm)).
- He is of New Zealand Māori descent and has represented the Māori All Stars, which is why the “kiwi” label keeps coming up (Melbourne Storm player profile).
What is his ethnic background?
- His junior representative career ran entirely through Queensland pathways: Australian Schoolboys and Queensland Under 18s in 2019, then Queensland Under 19s in 2022 (Melbourne Storm (his NRL club)).
- His senior representative appearances have come with New Zealand Māori rather than the Kangaroos or Kiwis pathways.
- The result is a dual identity that is rare in Origin debates: a Queensland-eligible player who wears Māori heritage on his representative record.
Howarth’s profile is the reverse of the usual Origin debate: Māori All Stars representation on one line, a Queensland birth certificate on the next. The two are not in conflict.
What this means: the “kiwi question” is really a question about heritage, while the Origin question is about birth and eligibility. Howarth answers both differently.
Is Jack Howarth eligible for QLD?
The short answer is yes. The longer answer explains why it has not happened yet.
What are the eligibility rules for State of Origin?
- Under the standard Origin model, a player born in Queensland is aligned to the Maroons; Howarth’s Mackay birth is the anchor fact.
- He has already been named in a Maroons squad — Queensland’s Game II squad on 9 June 2025 — which confirms he meets the eligibility criteria in practice (QRL (Queensland’s rugby league body)).
Has Jack Howarth been selected for QLD?
- Yes, in the squad sense: Queensland announced him in its Game II squad on 9 June 2025 (QRL (Queensland’s rugby league body)).
- Appendicitis surgery ended that window before he could take the field, as Melbourne Storm confirmed in its Round 17 injury report (Melbourne Storm injury report).
- According to Zero Tackle, he was again on the cusp of Queensland selection in 2026 but did not debut (Zero Tackle (rugby league news site)).
- His club situation matters too: Zero Tackle reported he remained under contract with Melbourne Storm but had permission to explore options for 2027 (Zero Tackle (rugby league news site)).
The catch: Howarth’s Origin case has never been about talent or eligibility. It is about timing — and the selectors have already shown they will pick him when his body is ready.
How much does each player get paid for State of Origin?
Origin pay is one of rugby league’s least transparent numbers. The NRL has not published an official per-match fee schedule, so every figure in public discussion is a reported estimate.
What is the match fee for Origin players?
- The figure most often repeated in Australian media is roughly A$30,000 per match for players who take the field.
- Match fees have reportedly increased in recent seasons, but no confirmed schedule is public.
- Three games at that rate would add roughly A$90,000 in Origin payments on top of club salary.
How does Origin pay compare to NRL salary?
- Origin fees are match payments stacked on top of club contracts, not a replacement for NRL salary.
- For a young player like Howarth, the prize is meaningful: three Origin appearances would pay more than several club games, and the exposure raises his next contract value.
- The fee only applies if a player actually takes the field, which is why being ruled out of a series, as Howarth was in 2025, is a financial loss as well as a sporting one.
The trade-off: Origin money is real but concentrated, and, as Howarth has learned twice, it only counts if you are healthy on the night.
What position does Jack Howarth play?
Howarth is listed as a centre — the role he has played through Melbourne’s system and the one Queensland’s selectors were tracking when they named him in 2025.
What is Jack Howarth’s playing style?
- He is listed as a centre on his official Melbourne Storm player profile (Jack Howarth player profile).
- His reputation is built on strong defence and carries through the middle, the profile that made him an Origin squad selection in 2025.
- Coaches tend to value that defensive reliability because it lets the edges take risks; Origin selection debates often turn on that exact trait.
Has he played other positions?
- He has also filled in on the wing when the Storm’s backline has needed cover.
- His junior representative career was spent in the centres for Australian Schoolboys and Queensland U18s/U19s (Melbourne Storm (his NRL club)).
- Versatility helps an Origin squad: a player who covers centre and wing is easier to carry in a 17-man lineup.
The trade-off: Howarth’s defensive solidity is what gets him picked, but his wing cover is what makes him valuable during an Origin window when clubs juggle workloads.
Jack Howarth career timeline
His career so far reads as a series of strides forward and medical setbacks, with Origin windows marking both.
- 22 October 2002 — Born in Mackay, Queensland (Jack Howarth player profile).
- 2019 — Represents Australian Schoolboys and Queensland Under 18s (Melbourne Storm (his NRL club)).
- June 2022 — Named in Queensland Under 19 Origin side (NRL.com (the league’s official site)).
- November 2022 — Named in Melbourne Storm’s 2023 squad; described as contracted through 2027 (Melbourne Storm (his NRL club)).
- 2023 — Makes NRL debut for Melbourne Storm (Jack Howarth player profile (Melbourne Storm)).
- 9 June 2025 — Named in Queensland Maroons Game II squad (QRL (Queensland’s rugby league body)).
- 25 June 2025 — Appendicitis surgery rules him out of Origin contention (Melbourne Storm injury report).
- June 2026 — Quad contusion sidelines him during another Origin push (Sporting News Australia (sports outlet)).
The pattern: Howarth has reached a selection milestone roughly every 12 months — U19s Origin, NRL debut, Maroons squad, Origin fringe — and each time the next step has been interrupted. If that rhythm holds, the next checkpoint is a 2027 decision that will decide whether he chases Origin as a Storm player or elsewhere.
What’s confirmed and what’s unclear
Confirmed facts
- Born 22 October 2002 in Mackay, Queensland (Melbourne Storm player profile).
- Named in Queensland’s Game II squad on 9 June 2025 (QRL (Queensland’s rugby league body)).
- Under contract with Melbourne Storm through 2027 (Melbourne Storm (his NRL club)).
- Sidelined by appendicitis in June 2025 (Melbourne Storm injury report).
What’s unclear
- Exact recovery timeline from each injury and whether another setback is likely.
- Whether Queensland picks him for the next Origin series (Zero Tackle (rugby league news site)).
- Where he plays in 2027 after being given permission to explore options (Zero Tackle (rugby league news site)).
- The full nature of the groin and bicep injuries reported during the grand final period (news.com.au (Australian news outlet)).
- Official State of Origin match fees, which the NRL has not published.
What this means: Howarth’s biography and his injury history are both well documented. What remains genuinely open is the future-shaping question — whether his body and his club situation align long enough for Queensland to actually use him.
What the sources say
Three statements capture Howarth’s situation better than any stat line.
Howarth had appendicitis and underwent surgery the previous night, ruling him out for the next few weeks — including the following Sunday’s game and State of Origin with Queensland.
— Melbourne Storm, official injury report, Round 17 (Melbourne Storm injury report)
Howarth suffered multiple injuries, including groin and bicep injuries during the grand final period, leaving the previous season’s ending a tough watch from the sidelines.
— news.com.au, March 2026 (news.com.au (Australian news outlet))
Howarth remained under contract with Melbourne Storm but had been given permission to explore options for 2027.
— Zero Tackle, June 2026 (Zero Tackle (rugby league news site))
The through-line: at every turn, Howarth’s talent has been confirmed by official announcements and his absence explained by official injury reports. The uncertainty is only about what happens next.
Howarth’s story is a reminder that Origin careers are built on availability as much as ability. Melbourne Storm already has him under contract through 2027, and Queensland has already shown it will pick him when he is healthy. For Queensland’s selectors, the question is simple: give him the jersey at full fitness in the next series, or watch another Origin window close on the centre who was almost a Maroon in 2025.
Related reading: Injury report: Howarth ruled out with appendicitis · Jack Howarth player profile
Frequently asked questions
Has Jack Howarth played for the Māori All Stars?
Yes. Howarth has represented New Zealand Māori, and his official Melbourne Storm player profile ties his representative career to that pathway (Jack Howarth player profile). His junior representative career ran through Queensland (Australian Schoolboys, Queensland U18s and U19s), which is why he is discussed as a Queensland Origin option.
What is Jack Howarth’s salary at Melbourne Storm?
Melbourne Storm does not publish individual salaries. The confirmed detail is that Howarth was announced as contracted through 2027 (Melbourne Storm (his NRL club)). By comparison, State of Origin players are widely reported to receive around A$30,000 per match, though the NRL does not publish an official fee schedule.
Who are Jack Howarth’s parents?
Their names are not confirmed in the official sources used for this profile. What is confirmed is that he was born in Mackay, Queensland, on 22 October 2002, and has New Zealand Māori heritage (Melbourne Storm player profile).
Does Jack Howarth have a brother?
No verified source in this profile confirms whether Howarth has siblings. The confirmed bio data covers his birth date, birthplace, position, and representative background.
How tall is Jack Howarth?
Height is not listed in the official profile data used for this article. Confirmed details include his position (centre), club (Melbourne Storm), birthplace (Mackay, Queensland), and representative background (New Zealand Māori).
What is Jack Howarth’s jersey number?
The verified sources used here do not confirm a jersey number. He is listed as a centre in Melbourne Storm’s playing squad.
What is Jack Howarth’s Instagram handle?
No verified official Instagram handle appears in the sources used for this article. Searches for his name should be treated with caution, since unofficial fan accounts are common.
These questions cover the most common inquiries about Jack Howarth’s background and career.
Alex Chen is Editor-in-Chief at Reef Brief, overseeing editorial standards, publication decisions and corrections.