Career
He plays at second-row, wing and centre. Born in Biloela, Queensland, Oates played his junior football for the Baralaba Panthers before being signed by the Brisbane Broncos. Oates played for the Broncos" Under 20s competition team in 2012 and that year played for the Queensland Under 20s team
In 2013 he continued playing for the Broncos in the Under 20s and again represented Queensland in the Under, And also has captained his country in the under 20"s competition.
2013
In Round 17 of the 2013 NRL season, Oates made his NRL premiership debut for the Broncos against the Melbourne Storm off the bench in the Broncos 32-0 loss at AAMI Park. In his next match in Round 18 against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at Suncorp Stadium, Oates scored his first NRL career try in the Broncos 19-18 loss.
Oates finished his debut year in the NRL with him playing in 9 matches and scoring 8 tries for the Broncos in the 2013 NRL season. Oates was named the 2013 Brisbane Broncos season"s rookie of the year.
On 27 August 2013, Oates was named at second-row in the 2013 New York City Team of the Year.
2014
Oates missed the first 2 matches of the season with a knee injury, returning in Round 3 against the Sydney Roosters. On 18 July, he was demoted to the Queensland Cup along with Jack Reed and Daniel Vidot by coach Anthony Griffin after breaching team protocol with a mid-week boozing session. Oates returned a week later, playing off the bench in the Broncos 30-8 loss against the Storm.
He finished the season with him playing in 20 matches and scoring 5 tries.
On 9 October, Oates extended his contract with the Broncos, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2017 season. In Round 25, Oates scored a 95-metre try against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, fending off an attempted tackle from Dylan Walker in doing southern
Leading into the Broncos" 2015 finals campaign, Oates edged out Lachlan Maranta for the left wing spot. On 4 October, Oates played on the wing and scored the first try of the match in the Broncos" 17-16 golden point extra time loss to the North Queensland Cowboys in the 2015 NRL Grand Final.
He finished the season with 14 tries from 25 matches.
2016
On 12 January, Oates was selected in the QAS Emerging Maroons squad. He was named in the Broncos" Auckland Nines squad, but was later ruled out. During Round 2 against the New Zealand Warriors, he suffered a Grade three Air Corps joint injury that will require four to six weeks of treatment.
