Ricketson made his first grade debut for Eastern Suburbs in round 22 of the
1991 NSWRL season against Penrith which ended in a 42-8 loss. Ricketson was one of the ever present players at Eastern Suburbs during a tough period in the clubs history where they continually missed out on the finals. Ricketson started out his First Grade career as a , and gradually moved closer to the action in the middle of the field as his career went on, generally playing in the centres until he was moved into the
second row in
1996. Ricketson played 14 games for the club in 1996 as they qualified for the finals. It was their first finals appearance since 1987. The club would subsequently qualify for the finals in 1997, 1998 and 1999. Ricketson played at
lock for the Sydney Roosters in their
2000 NRL Grand Final loss to the
Brisbane Broncos. In 2002, Ricketson broke the record held by Roosters club legend
Kevin Hastings (217) for the most club appearances. In 2014, Ricketson's eventual 301 caps, achieved upon his retirement in 2005 was overtaken by
Anthony Minichiello (302). This record was subsequently surpassed by
Mitchell Aubusson (306) in 2020 and
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves in 2024. Ricketson played for the Sydney Roosters at lock forward in their
2002 NRL Grand Final victory against the
New Zealand Warriors. Having won the
2002 NRL Premiership, the Sydney Roosters traveled to England to play the
2003 World Club Challenge against
Super League champions,
St Helens R.F.C. Ricketson played at lock forward in Sydney's victory. In the
2003 NRL grand final, he played at lock forward for the Sydney Roosters in their loss to Penrith. Ricketson missed the
2004 NRL grand final due to suspension. Ricketson retired from rugby league after the
2005 NRL season having played 301 games for the Sydney Roosters, the last season as captain. He played his 300th (and penultimate) game in round 25, 2005, against the
Brisbane Broncos at
Suncorp Stadium; the Sydney Roosters marked the milestone by winning the match 17–10.
Representative career In 1996, Ricketson was first picked for
City Origin. He played again for City in 1997 but had to wait until 1999 to make his
State of Origin début for
NSW, coming off the bench in all three games. He made his international début when he played four games for
Ireland at the
2000 Rugby League World Cup. Ricketson made his début for
Australia in 2003 playing in two tests at
lock against New Zealand. After that he was selected to go on the
2003 Kangaroo tour, on which he played all three tests against
Great Britain as Australia retained
The Ashes winning all three games. Ricketson scored two tries in the last test at the
McAlpine Stadium in
Huddersfield. ==Post playing==