Bulldogs History Database
Michael Lichaa
| Player # | 759 |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Lich |
| Position | Hooker |
| Height | 183cm |
| Weight | 93kg |
| DOB | 18th Jul 1993 |
| Origin | Wollongong, NSW |
| Junior Club | Cronulla-Caringbah, Yarrawarrah Tigers |
| Debut | 2015: Round 1 vs Penrith |
| Other Clubs | Cronulla |
| Rep |
Michael Lichaa played for the Cronulla Shark's NYC team from 2011-2013. On 21 April 2012, he played for the New South Wales
under-20s team against Queensland.He was named at hooker in the 2012 NYC
Team of the Year. On 13 October 2012, he played for the Junior Kangaroos
against the Junior Kiwis.
On 20 April 2013, Michael again played for the New South Wales
under-20s team against the Queensland under-20s team. He was again named
at hooker in the 2013 NYC Team of the Year. On 13 October 2013, he again
played for the Junior Kangaroos against the Junior Kiwis. In 2014, Michael moved on to the Sharks' New South Wales Cup team. In February 2014, he
played for the Sharks in the inaugural Auckland Nines tournament.
In round 2 of the 2014 NRL season, Michael made his NRL debut for Cronulla against the Bulldogs off the interchange bench in the club's 42-4 loss at ANZ Stadium. Soon after, he signed a 3-year contract with Canterbury starting in 2015. Two days after the signing was made public, he was dropped from the first-grade team by coach Peter Sharp. Michael was brought back into the team in Round 7, playing off the interchange bench. On 4 May, after only playing three NRL games, he played for New South Wales City against New South Wales Country in the 2014 City vs Country Origin match at Apex Oval in Dubbo, playing off the interchange bench in the 26-26 draw. He finished off his debut year in the NRL having played in 15 matches for Cronulla.
Michael made his first pre-season appearance for Canterbury in the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines. In Round 1 of the 2015 NRL season, he made his Canterbury debut against the Penrith Panthers, playing at hooker in the club's 24-18 loss at Penrith Stadium. In Round 4 against the Wests Tigers, he scored his first NRL career try in the Bulldogs' 25-24 golden-point extra time win at ANZ Stadium. In Round 23 against the Gold Coast Titans, he suffered a season ending lower leg injury. He scored 3 tries from 21 matches in his first year with the Bulldogs.
Michael finished the 2016 NRL season with him playing in 22
matches and scoring 3 tries for the Bulldogs.
In February 2017, he was selected in Canterbury's 2017 NRL Auckland Nines squad. Towards the end of the season, Michael was struggling with form and was told by Des Hasler he was unwanted for next season until Hasler was terminated as Canterbury coach shortly thereafter. Michael said to Fox Sports “I got farewelled with three games to go and something clicked in my head and I went out and played my own game, “I think I finished the year showing the type of player that I am, and hopefully come round one, through to round 26 and the finals that’s the player I am, I was lucky enough Dean Pay came on board and I had a relationship with him before. I’m really grateful to still be at the club". Michael had worked with Dean Pay with the NSW Under 20 side and responded with some excellent performances for Lebanon in the World Cup, leading into pre-season training. A player whose tackling statistics often go unnoticed, Michael looked to continue to show that he has the running game that can cause the opposition problems on any given day.
Michael played 20 games for the club in 2018 his fifth season at Belmore. The 25-year old has played 100 NRL games to date, with 85 having been played in the blue and white. In 2018 he made 734 tackles, averaging 36 per game and was second behind Josh Jackson for most made in the season by a Bulldogs player. Michael averaged 48.2 running metres per game, had the most dummy half runs at the club with 75, came up with 7 try assists – the equal most by a Bulldogs player in 2018 and had a tackle efficiency of 94.4% for the 2018 season.
Michael made 13 appearances for the Bulldogs in the 2019 NRL season as the club finished 12th on the table.
On September 16 2019, it was announced that Michael would be released by the club after failing to secure a contract for the 2020 season.
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