St George Illawarra twin brothers Ryan and Toby Couchman have simultaneously emerged as two of the most promising young forwards in the NRL.
Cricket had the Waughs, rugby union had the Ellas and the Fainga’as, the AFL has Ben and Max King. Check out the impressive history of twins in premiership rugby league.
Robert and William Cockburn
The first pair of twins to feature in the premiership. Winger/centre William Cockburn debuted for Newtown in 1916 and enjoyed his best season in 1918, crossing for nine tries in 12 games. He was also joined by centre Robert that year, the brothers appearing together nine times in 1918-19.
Both finished up at Newtown in 1919, but William later played for Glebe in 1923-24.
Bill and Jack Rawlinson
The Rawlinson twins were long-serving Western Suburbs Magpies lower-grade players.
Forward Bill played four top-grade games for Wests in 1949. The week after his last appearance, twin brother Jack made a tryscoring debut at lock in a win over Eastern Suburbs. That would be Jack’s only outing in 1949, while he played just one further game in 1951.
John and Mal McMartin
The first twins to play in the Sydney competition extensively, hooker John McMartin was one of the longest-serving players in premiership history by the time he retired – making 259 appearances for Parramatta (1966-75) and Cronulla (1976-79).
John represented NSW in 1975 from the Eels, while he was part of the Sharks’ 1978 grand final side.
Utility back Mal started out with Penrith in 1968, spent two seasons with Balmain in 1972-73 and spent the last two years of a first-grade career playing alongside his brother at Parramatta. He racked up 111 first-grade appearances. John passed away in 2018, while Mal died in January this year.
Chris and Paul Dawson
Paul (102 games) and Chris (55 games) Dawson regularly packed down together in the Newtown’s second-row, both playing first-grade for the club from 1972-77 after earlier playing rugby union for Eastern Suburbs.
Paul was particularly prominent during the Jets’ outstanding 1973 season under Jack Gibson, scoring eight tries as they reached the preliminary final and featuring in their Wills Cup pre-season success.
But the Dawson name became infamous in recent years, when Chris was arrested in 2018 and charged with the murder of his wife, Lynette, who went missing in 1982. He was found guilt and sentenced to 24 years in prison in 2022.
Peter and Gerard Raper
Headlined by the Immortal Johnny, five Raper brothers featured in the Sydney premiership between 1957 and 1979 – including twins Peter and Gerard.
Hooker Peter played two games for Newtown in 1977, while Gerard came off the bench twice for Canterbury-Bankstown during the same season.
Kerrod and Kevin Walters
The first twins to play rugby league for Australia, five-eighth Kevin and hooker Kerrod enjoyed many triumphs together.
Broncos rake Kerrod broke through for Origin and Test debuts first in a breakout 1989 season; Kevin, then with the Raiders, debuted off the bench for Queensland that year before joining his twin at Brisbane in 1990.
The pair went on the 1990 Kangaroo Tour together, but Kerrod’s rep career stalled when he was replaced in the Queensland and Australian No.9 jumpers in 1991. Nevertheless, Kevin and Kerrod won grand finals together in 1992-93 before the latter joining Adelaide Rams in 1997.
Kevin played the last of 12 Tests in 1998 and made his 20th and final Origin appearance as captain in 1999, before skippering the Broncos to a premiership – the fifth of his career – in 2000.
Brett and Josh Morris
Arguably the only set of brothers to challenge the Walters’ mantle as rugby league’s greatest twins, identical duo Brett (2006) and Josh (2007) Morris – sons of former Test halfback and Origin winger Steve Morris – enjoyed superb NRL rookie seasons at St George Illawarra in consecutive years.
Josh moved to the Bulldogs in 2009 but the brothers debuted for Australia together during that year’s Four Nations. They both tallied 15 Origin appearances for NSW, donning the sky blue alongside one another seven times.
Brett won a premiership with the Dragons in 2010, while Josh played in losing grand finals for the Bulldogs in 2012 and ’14. Brett joined Josh at the Bulldogs from 2015-18 before both went their separate ways, but they reunited at the Roosters for two seasons before both retired in 2021.
Brett finished with 176 tries in 276 NRL games and Josh racked up 158 tries in 325 top-grade appearances.
George and Tom Burgess
Identical twin props George and Tom Burgess played together for South Sydney from 2013-19, including the 2014 grand final triumph alongside older brother Sam. The trio turned out in an NRL match with another older brother, Luke, in a match in 2013.
George played 149 games for the Rabbitohs before brief stints with Wigan and St George Illawarra. Former Bradford player Thomas stayed with Souths until 2024, finishing with 249 appearances then linking with Huddersfield.
The blonde, British bookends were also England teammates between 2013 and 2018.
Reece and Travis Robinson
Outside back Reece Robinson made his NRL debut for Brisbane in 2008 but is best remembered for an 83-game stint with Canberra, scoring 43 tries. He later had one-season stays with Parramatta and Sydney Roosters.
Twin brother Travis played nine games for Penrith in 2012-13. The pair – whose grandfather, Eric Robinson, played 39 games for Souths in 1960s – represented Lebanon together.
Daniel and Jacob Saifiti
Hulking front-row twins Daniel and Jacob Saifiti made their NRL debuts in the same game for Newcastle in the opening round of 2016.
Fiji teammates from 2015-17, they later became the third set of twins to play Origin football. Daniel played seven games for the Blues from 2019-21, while Jacob turned out twice for NSW in 2022-23.
After 183 games for the Knights, Daniel joined the Dolphins in 2025. Jacob has made 177 appearances for Newcastle.
Toby and Ryan Couchman
Athletic, industrious twins Toby and Ryan Couchman both broke into the NRL with St George Illawarra as 19-year-olds in 2023.
Toby has played 43 games for the Dragons to date, while Ryan’s 15-game career hit a speedbump via a recent four-week ban for a hip drop. But the siblings shape as the future of the Saints and are both contracted until the end of 2027.
Leo and Tyrone Thompson
Gisborne-born brothers Leo and Tyrone Thompson made three appearances for Newcastle together in 2025.
Leo made his NRL debut for the Knights in 2022 and stormed onto the international scene with the Kiwis the following season, while Tyrone was carving out a professional rugby union career with Super Rugby outfit the Chiefs, as well as representing the Māori All Blacks.
They were the Knights’ starting front-rowers when Tyrone played his first NRL game against the Sharks last season. Tyrone’s code switch was brief, returning to the Chiefs in 2026, as Leo made a high-profile move to the Bulldogs.
Emily and Sophie Curtain
Half Emily and versatile forward Sophie created history as the first twins to play in the NRLW.
Emily debuted for Parramatta in 2022 before the sisters played together with Wests Tigers in 2023. Sophie made her most recent appearance for the Tigers in 2024, while Emily played for the Warriors in 2025.
The pair are also prolific Muay Thai fighters.