Joel Clinton (born 8 December 1981) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a prop in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australia international representative, he played his club football in the NRL for the Penrith Panthers (with whom he won the 2003 premiership) and the Brisbane Broncos. He also played for English club Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super League.

Joel Clinton was born in Riverstone, New South Wales on 8 December 1981. He played for the Parramatta Eels, before joining the Penrith club.

Clinton rose to prominence in the Panthers Panthers' successful 2003 season, he helped the Penrith club come from last place in 2001 to become Minor Premiers and eventual victory in the 2003 NRL Grand final. At the end of the 2003 NRL season, he went on the 2003 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France, helping Australia to victory over Great Britain in what would be the last time the two nations contested an Ashes series. He described the experience as "a great personal bonus but it did not compare to winning the premiership with the guys you train and play with all year long." As 2003 NRL premiers, the Panthers travelled to England to face Super League VIII champions, the Bradford Bulls in the 2004 World Club Challenge. Clinton played at prop forward in the Panthers' 22–4 loss.

Clinton's good form continued into 2004 and he was selected in the Australian team that took on the Kiwis in the 2004 ANZAC Test.

The Panther's first loss of the 2006 season came against the Canberra Raiders, a close, golden-point match. During the game, Clinton was hit by a high tackle from Canberra Raiders hooker Simon Woolford. Clinton received a black eye, but got up off the ground smiling, and continued playing. Clinton's ability to brush off the hit left Woolford claiming the high tackle wasn't that serious. These comments left Clinton steaming, saying "Woolford should learn to keep his mouth shut." In May 2006, Clinton was selected to trial for the New South Wales State of Origin team in the Country v. City game. Clinton played for City and commented before the game that he intended to "smash his way into the NSW side." Clinton saved a try in the first 20 minutes, diving on a cross-kick into the in-goal by Country. City eventually lost by 2 points, conceding tries while Clinton was off the field.

Manly five-eighth Travis Burns branded Joel Clinton as "childish" and a "bad sport" for allegedly squirting him with a water bottle while lining up a match-winning penalty goal in round 20 (23 July 2006). Viewing the replay, it appears that Clinton was standing over 10 metres away from Burns, leading Coach John Lang to comment "it must've been a bloody big squirt".

In round 19, 15 July 2006, Clinton made international headlines with a tackle on Ty Williams of the North Queensland Cowboys. With the Penrith Panthers ahead 12–8; North Queensland winger Ty Williams broke the Penrith line and headed for a runaway try in the corner. However, Clinton had enough pace and tenacity to pull the Queensland Origin player into touch just centimetres out from the tryline. Considered one of the fastest men in the NRL over one hundred metres, Williams was running for a game-changing four points. Instead, Clinton single-handedly reversed the momentum of the match. This allowed Penrith winger Michael Gordon to score in the final minute, giving Penrith an unlikely 17–8 win.

Fresh from the off-season under new coach Matthew Elliott, Clinton said that confidence within Penrith team was high for 2007. "Blokes like me, Trent Waterhouse and Luke Lewis have taken on a leadership role this year," Clinton said. "We used to be the younger generation but we've become senior players ourselves."