List of Wigan Warriors players

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Wigan Warriors is an English professional rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1872, the club was a founding member of the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, and competed in the inaugural season of the Northern Union's league championship. Since then, more than 1,100 players have appeared for the club's first team.

Jim Sullivan has made the most career appearances for Wigan, having played 774 games between 1921 and 1946. Sullivan is also the club's all-time top goal scorer (2,317) and point scorer (4,883), and holds the club record for most points scored in a single match, with 44 against Flimby & Fothergill in 1925.

The try scoring record is held by Billy Boston, who touched down 478 times for the club. Martin Offiah and Shaun Edwards share the record for most tries scored in one game, with Offiah scoring ten tries against Leeds in 1992 before Edwards repeated the feat against Swinton later that year.

List of players

The following is a list of rugby league players who have made 100 or more appearances for Wigan since the formation of the Northern Union in 1895. Appearances include all official league and cup games, but exclude friendlies. The list is ordered by date of debut, then by surname and first name.

Key
Symbol Meaning
* Inducted into the Hall of Fame
^ Club record holder
+ Played for Wigan prior to the formation of the Northern Union in 1895
Name Position Club career Appearances Tries Goals DGs Points Representative Refs
Jack Blackburn FW 1895–1900+ 129 8 0 24
Jack Brown FW 1895–1903+ 258 2 2 10 Lancashire Lancashire
George Rigby FW 1895–1902+ 188 15 2 49
Bill Yates FW 1895–1902 162 5 0 15 Lancashire Lancashire
Reuben Collier FW 1896–1908 227 3 0 9
Harry Ball FW 1898–1903 138 7 0 21
Jack Hilton FW 1898–1906 197 8 1 26
Joseph Topping FW 1900–10 105 4 0 12
Tom Halliwell FW 1900–04 116 3 0 9
Jimmy Blears FW 1901–09 127 7 1 23 Lancashire Lancashire
Jack Barton FW 1901–09 213 15 1 47
Jack Mason FB 1902–06 153 2 118 242
Billy Anderson SO 1902–06 149 14 18 78 Lancashire Lancashire
Fred Gleave SO 1903–14 193 20 1 62  England
Jim Sharrock FB 1903–12 278 7 135 291  England /  Great Britain
Tom Whittaker FW 1903–14 297 22 0 66
Jimmy Leytham WG 1903–11 280 258 267 1308  England /  Great Britain
Bert Jenkins CN 1904–20 389 182 0 546  Wales /  Great Britain
Johnny Thomas SH 1904–19 388 108 439 1202  Wales /  Great Britain
Dick Ramsdale FW 1905–20 313 35 0 105  England /  Great Britain
Walter Cheetham FW 1906–10 135 16 0 48
Dick Silcock FW 1907–18 243 16 0 48  Great Britain
Joe Miller WG 1907–19 206 151 2 457  England /  Great Britain
Lance Todd CN/WG 1908–13 185 126 7 392 Lancashire Lancashire
Charlie Seeling LF 1910–20 226 76 0 228 Lancashire Lancashire
Percy Williams FW 1910–12 111 17 0 51
Frank Walford WG 1911–24 129 48 8 160
Lew Bradley WG 1911–14 106 117 0 351
Percy Coldrick FW 1912–24 280 79 0 237  Wales /  Great Britain
Arthur Francis FW 1912–19 130 41 44 211
Harry Banks FW 1913–26 142 5 0 15
George Owens SO 1913–27 218 54 8 178  Wales
Syd Jerram SH 1914–27 245 54 23 208  Wales
George Hesketh SO 1914–22 114 22 19 104 Lancashire Lancashire
Bert Webster FW 1918–24 128 25 0 75
Ernest Shaw FW 1919–22 106 33 1 101  England
Danny Hurcombe CN/SH 1919–25 199 72 3 222  Wales /  Great Britain
Tommy Howley CN 1920–26 219 101 28 359  Wales /  Great Britain
Frederick Roffey FW 1920–24 159 20 1 62  Wales
Wilf Hodder PR 1921–30 277 35 0 105  Wales
Jim Sullivan* FB 1921–45 774^ 83 2317 4883^  England /  Wales /  Great Britain
Johnny Ring WG 1922–31 331 368 4 1112  Wales /  Great Britain
Jack Price LF 1922–27 177 71 0 213  England /  Great Britain
Tommy Parker CN 1923–30 240 113 0 339  Wales
Attie Van Heerden WG 1923–26 127 107 0 321 Other Nationalities
George Van Rooyen SR 1923–28 178 26 0 78 Other Nationalities
John Sherrington LF 1924–32 198 37 0 111 Lancashire Lancashire
Tommy Beetham PR 1924–30 262 10 0 30 Cumberland Cumberland
David Booysen CN/SH 1924–28 158 52 2 160 Other Nationalities
Jack Bennett HK 1925–30 210 5 0 15  England /  Great Britain
Frank Stephens SR 1925–30 207 7 0 21  Wales
Syd Abram SH 1926–32 171 49 1 149
Roy Kinnear CN 1927–33 184 81 0 243  Great Britain
Lou Brown WG 1927–30 130 106 0 318 Other Nationalities
Len Mason SR 1927–35 365 50 5 160 Other Nationalities
Arthur Binks SO 1927–30 121 15 0 45  England
Hal Jones SR 1929–33 111 23 0 69 Glamorgan Monmouthshire (historic) Glamorgan and Monmouthshire
George Dixon SR 1929–33 128 7 0 21
Gwynne Davies CN 1930–39 300 127 0 381  Wales
George Bennett SO 1930–37 232 101 5 313  Wales
Jack Morley WG 1932–39 292 223 4 677  England /  Wales /  Great Britain
Hector Gee SH 1932–44 353 73 3 225
Albert Davis SR 1933–40 181 6 0 18
Gordon Innes CN 1933–37 155 60 4 188
Harold Edwards PR 1933–37 146 8 0 24  Wales
Joe Golby HK 1934–38 182 10 0 30
Alf Ellaby WG 1934–36 103 90 0 270 Lancashire Lancashire
Ken Gee* PR 1935–54 559 54 508 1178  England /  Great Britain
Trevor Thomas SR 1936–39 112 9 0 27
Joe Jones FB 1936–43 113 7 41 103  Wales
George Banks PR 1936–48 246 14 0 42
Ivor Jones SR 1936–45 106 34 3 108
Ted Ward CN 1938–50, 1953 213 57 480 1131  Wales /  Great Britain
Joe Egan* HK 1938–49 362 28 12 108  England /  Great Britain
John Lawrenson CN 1938–48 219 187 128 817  England /  Great Britain
Jackie Bowen LF 1939–47 149 32 8 112  Wales
Tommy Bradshaw SH 1939–51 302 35 0 105  England /  Great Britain
Jack Simpson LF 1939–45 113 21 0 63
Jack Cunliffe UB 1939–59 447 85 371 997  England /  Great Britain
Jack Cayzer SR 1940–44 110 27 0 81
Jack Maloney FB/CN 1940–44 106 20 0 60
Martin Ryan FB 1940–52 300 67 63 327  England /  Great Britain
Jack Blan FW 1940–47 184 40 1 122 Lancashire Lancashire
Jack Fleming SO 1941–54 131 41 0 123
Frank Barton PR 1941–52 279 35 0 105  England /  Great Britain
Jack Hilton FW 1942–53 137 122 0 366  England /  Great Britain
Ernie Ashcroft CN 1942–58 530 241 0 723  England /  Great Britain
Harry Atkinson SR 1943–48 116 16 0 48
Gordon Ratcliffe WG 1945–53 212 185 0 555  England /  Great Britain
Billy Blan SR/LF 1945–52 255 77 4 239  England /  Great Britain
Brian Nordgren WG 1946–54 294 312 109 1154 Other Nationalities
Cec Mountford SO 1946–50 210 70 55 320 Other Nationalities
George Roughley CN 1947–53 123 40 0 120
Nat Silcock, Jr. SR 1947–54 195 64 0 192  England /  Great Britain
John Alty SH 1948–53 155 31 0 93 Lancashire Lancashire
Ted Slevin PR/SR 1949–51 113 16 0 48  England
Jack Broome CN 1949–56 215 59 0 177  England
Ronnie Mather HK 1950–57 211 11 0 33 Lancashire Lancashire
Brian McTigue* SR/PR 1951–66 422 44 3 138  Great Britain
Harry Street LF 1951–55 163 32 0 96  England
Frank Collier PR/SR 1951–63 323 26 27 132  Great Britain
Don Platt FB 1953–58 108 22 47 160
Norman Cherrington SR 1953–62 257 80 0 240  England /  Great Britain
Billy Boston* WG 1953–67 487 478 7 1448  Great Britain
Dave Bolton SO 1954–63 300 127 4 389  Great Britain
Bill Sayer HK 1954–65 295 16 0 48  Great Britain
Eric Ashton* CN 1955–68 497 231 448 1589  England /  Great Britain
Bill Bretherton PR 1956–59 119 13 0 39
John Barton PR 1956–66 278 24 0 72  Great Britain
Rees Thomas SH 1956–59 102 5 1 17
Roy Evans LF 1957–65 282 34 0 102  Great Britain
Mick Sullivan WG 1957–60 125 84 0 252  Great Britain
Fred Griffiths FB 1957–62 161 43 663 1455
Keith Holden CN 1958–67 152 58 0 174 Lancashire Lancashire
Geoff Lyon SR 1959–69 328 73 0 219 Lancashire Lancashire
Frank Carlton WG 1960–65 123 95 0 285  Great Britain
Frank Parr SH 1961–71 309 95 15 315 Lancashire Lancashire
Alan Davies CN 1961–64 133 52 0 156 Lancashire Lancashire
Trevor Lake WG 1962–66 140 132 0 396
Colin Clarke* HK 1963–77 436 75 0 0 225  Great Britain
John Stephens PR 1963–78 238 23 0 0 69  England
Laurie Gilfedder SR/LF 1963–67 143 17 384 819 Lancashire Lancashire
Kevin O'Loughlin U 1964–75 309 57 0 0 171  Great Britain under-24
Bill Francis UB 1964–77 400 159 43 0 563  Wales /  Great Britain
Ray Ashby FB 1964–67 124 10 1 32  Great Britain
Cliff Hill SO/CN 1964–70 192 57 0 171  Great Britain
Danny Gardiner PR 1965–68 149 2 0 6  Great Britain
Peter Rowe CN 1966–73 218 55 0 165  Wales
Colin Tyrer FB 1967–74 248 88 813 0 1890 Lancashire Lancashire
Doug Laughton LF 1967–72 185 38 0 114  Great Britain
Geoff Fletcher PR 1967–74 143 18 0 0 54 Lancashire Lancashire
Dave Hill SO/CN 1967–76 329 113 15 0 369  Great Britain
Bill Ashurst CN/SR 1968–73, 1977–78 186 74 146 6 520  Great Britain
Brian Hogan SR 1968–77 207 19 0 0 57  England
Stuart Wright WG 1969–75 173 103 0 0 309  England
Eddie Cunningham SR 1969–74 107 45 0 0 135 Lancashire Lancashire
David Robinson SR 1970–74 147 17 0 0 51  Great Britain
Keiron O'Loughlin UB 1970–79 260 93 0 0 279 Lancashire Lancashire
Warren Ayres SH 1970–73 131 64 6 204
Dennis Ashcroft PR 1971–76 141 5 2 0 19
Terry Hollingsworth UF 1971–80 171 26 0 0 78
Jim Nulty SH 1972–77 185 41 90 9 312  Great Britain under-24
Billy Melling SR 1972–81 177 38 0 9 123 Lancashire Lancashire
Bernard Coyle, Jr. SH 1973–80 134 32 0 0 96
Green Vigo WG 1973–80 168 86 1 0 260 Other Nationalities
Robert Irving SR 1973–77 154 40 0 0 120  England
Jimmy Hornby WG 1973–82 201 87 3 0 267  Great Britain under-24
David Willicombe CN 1974–80 119 36 6 0 120  Wales /  Great Britain
George Fairbairn FB 1974–80 207 30 583 11 1267  England /  Great Britain
Dennis Ramsdale WG 1976–84 194 62 4 0 199
Steve O'Neill PR 1976–81 124 12 0 3 39  England
Nicky Kiss HK 1978–89 260 36 0 0 134  Great Britain
Martin Foy SO 1979–83 115 34 0 0 103 Lancashire Lancashire
John Pendlebury LF 1979–84 122 29 45 1 182
Danny Campbell PR 1979–85 145 12 0 0 38
Mick Scott SR 1981–84 125 12 0 0 41
Henderson Gill WG 1981–89 226 145 106 0 762  England /  Great Britain
Colin Whitfield FB/CN 1981–85 149 46 379 13 937 Lancashire Lancashire
Shaun Wane PR 1982–90 149 11 0 0 43  Great Britain
David Stephenson CN 1982–87 214 71 286 6 845  Great Britain
Graeme West SR/PR 1982–90 202 49 0 0 189  New Zealand
Brian Case PR 1983–88 197 14 0 0 54  Great Britain
Shaun Edwards* SO/SH 1983–97 466 274 23 4 1146  England /  Great Britain
Steve Hampson FB 1983–93 304 55 48 3 319  Great Britain
Ian Potter SR 1984–88 190 12 0 0 48  Great Britain
Martin Dermott HK 1985–96 231 21 0 3 87  Great Britain
Ian Lucas PR 1985–92 178 12 0 0 48  Great Britain
Andy Goodway SR/LF 1985–92 224 79 0 0 316  Great Britain
Ellery Hanley* SO/LF 1985–90 204 189 9 2 776  Great Britain
Joe Lydon UB 1986–94 262 89 283 16 938  Great Britain
Dean Bell* CN 1986–94 253 96 0 0 384  New Zealand
Ian Gildart SR 1987–94 139 4 0 0 16  Great Britain under-21
Andy Gregory* SH 1987–91 182 17 22 6 118  Great Britain
Denis Betts SR 1987–95, 1998–2001 367 129 1 0 518  Great Britain
Ged Byrne UB 1987–90 107 25 0 0 100 Lancashire Lancashire
Kevin Iro CN 1987–90 100 60 36 0 312  New Zealand
Andy Platt PR 1988–94 200 24 0 0 96  Great Britain
Phil Clarke LF 1989–95 154 23 0 0 92  England /  Great Britain
Frano Botica* SO/WG 1990–95 180 66 827 13 1931  New Zealand
Kelvin Skerrett PR 1990–96 176 21 0 0 84  Wales /  Great Britain
Sam Panapa UB 1991–94 119 45 0 0 180
Neil Cowie PR 1991–2001 330 34 0 1 137  Wales /  Great Britain
Andy Farrell* LF 1991–2005 370 111 1336 19 3135  England /  Great Britain
Martin Offiah* WG 1992–96 159 186 1 3 749  England /  Great Britain
Mick Cassidy SR 1992–2004 368 52 0 0 208  England /  Ireland /  Great Britain
Jason Robinson WG 1992–2000 281 171 0 1 685  England /  Great Britain
Martin Hall HK 1993–97 141 29 18 1 153  Wales
Gary Connolly CN 1993–2002, 2004 313 137 6 0 560  England /  Ireland /  Great Britain
Kris Radlinski* FB 1993–2006 323 183 1 0 734  England /  Great Britain
Simon Haughton SR 1993–2002 174 55 0 0 220  England /  Great Britain
Va'aiga Tuigamala CN/WG 1994–97 102 62 3 0 254  Samoa
Henry Paul SO 1994–98 147 78 119 0 550  New Zealand
Terry O'Connor PR 1994–2004 306 13 0 0 52  Ireland /  Great Britain
Paul Johnson CN/SR 1995–2003 133 56 0 0 224  Great Britain
Mark Smith HK 1999–2004 124 12 0 0 48
Brett Dallas WG 2000–06 177 107 0 0 428
Terry Newton HK 2000–05 186 73 0 0 292  England /  Great Britain
David Hodgson CN/WG 2000–04 117 48 0 0 192  Great Britain
Adrian Lam SH 2001–04 119 44 1 10 188
Martin Aspinwall CN 2001–05 109 33 0 0 132  England A
Brian Carney WG 2001–05 111 48 1 0 194  Great Britain
Stephen Wild CN/SR 2001–05 100 30 0 0 120  England /  Great Britain
Sean O'Loughlin* LF 2002–20 459 88 3 2 360  England /  Great Britain
Danny Tickle SR 2002–06 141 34 217 2 572  England A
Gareth Hock SR 2003–12 191 48 0 0 192  England /  Great Britain
Harrison Hansen SR 2004–13 242 43 0 0 172  New Zealand /  Samoa
Paul Prescott PR 2004–13 146 5 0 0 20  Ireland
Joel Tomkins SR/CN 2005–11, 2014–18 236 65 0 0 260  England
Darrell Goulding CN 2005–14 174 72 0 0 288  England
Iafeta Paleaaesina PR 2006–10 145 21 0 0 84  New Zealand
Pat Richards WG 2006–13 224 168 896 4 2468  Ireland
Stuart Fielden PR 2006–12 141 3 0 0 12  England /  Great Britain
Phil Bailey CN/SR 2007–10 101 15 0 0 60
Thomas Leuluai SH 2007–12, 2017–22 327 74 0 1 297  New Zealand
Michael McIlorum HK 2007–17 241 24 0 0 96  England /  Ireland
George Carmont CN 2008–12 154 80 0 0 320  Samoa
Andy Coley PR 2008–11 125 13 0 0 52
Lee Mossop PR 2008–13, 2015–16 165 13 0 0 52  England
Sam Tomkins FB 2008–13, 2016–18 213 168 137 10 956  England
Josh Charnley WG 2010–16 173 164 103 0 862  England
Liam Farrell SR/LF 2010– 321 130 0 0 520  England
Dom Crosby PR 2012–16 102 7 0 0 28
Matty Smith SH 2012–16 139 22 304 25 721  England
Anthony Gelling CN 2012–17 115 52 0 0 208  Cook Islands
Ben Flower PR 2012–20 184 21 0 0 84  Wales
Sam Powell HK 2012– 250 40 12 4 188  England Knights
Joe Burgess WG 2013–15, 2017–20 129 107 0 0 428  England
George Williams SO 2013–19 179 61 70 1 385  England
Dan Sarginson CN 2014–16, 2018–19 125 35 0 0 140  England
John Bateman SR 2014–18, 2021–22 174 40 0 0 160  England
Ryan Sutton PR 2014–18 118 11 0 0 44
Tony Clubb PR 2014–21 165 23 0 0 92
Taulima Tautai PR 2015–19 132 4 0 0 16
Oliver Gildart CN 2015–21 143 65 0 0 260  England
Willie Isa SR 2016– 190 16 0 0 64
Liam Marshall WG 2017– 122 95 10 0 400
Morgan Smithies LF 2019– 105 2 0 0 8  England

Historically notable players

Hall of Fame

Name Nationality Year of
induction
Ref.
Billy Boston Wales 1998 [1]
Shaun Edwards England 1998 [1]
Dean Bell New Zealand 2007 [2]
Ellery Hanley England 2007 [3]
Frano Botica New Zealand 2016 [4]
Colin Clarke England 2016 [4]
Martin Offiah England 2016 [4]
Sean O'Loughlin England 2020 [5]
[a]
Kris Radlinski England 2020 [6]
Vicky Molyneux England 2023 [7]
[b]
Eric Ashton England ?
Joe Egan England ?
Andy Farrell England ?
Ken Gee England ?
Andy Gregory England ?
Brian McTigue England ?
Jim Sullivan Wales ?
Source: [8]

Player of the Year

Year Player Ref.
2008 Ireland Pat Richards
2009 England Sam Tomkins
2010 Ireland Pat Richards
2011 England Sam Tomkins
2012 Samoa George Carmont
2013 England Sean O'Loughlin
2014 England Sean O'Loughlin
2015 England John Bateman
2016 England John Bateman
2017 England Sean O'Loughlin
2018 England John Bateman [9]
2019 England Zak Hardaker [10]
2020 Australia Bevan French [11]
2021 England Jackson Hastings [12]
2022 Australia Jai Field [13]
2023 Lebanon Abbas Miski [14]
Source:[15]

Captains

(Super League era)

Player Year Nation
Andy Farrell 19962004  England
Terry Newton 2005  England
Sean O'Loughlin 20062020  England
Thomas Leuluai 20212022  New Zealand
Liam Farrell 2023–present  England

Testimonials

Once players have been at a club for a certain length of time (usually ten years), they may be offered a friendly game celebrating their time at the club, known as a testimonial match. This is a list of players who have received testimonials from Wigan RLFC, in ascending chronological order with respect to when they received it.

Team of the Decade

In 2005 during the tenth season of the current Super League championship format, the fans of Wigan RLFC voted for their best thirteen players of the 'Nighties' and the 'Naughties', called the Team of the Decade. This is a list of the ballot's resulting thirteen players.[16]

No. Player name Position Years at club
1 Kris Radlinski (MBE) Fullback 1993–2006
2 Jason Robinson (OBE) Wing 1992–2000
3 Va'aiga Tuigamala (MNZM) Centre 1993–1996
4 Gary Connolly Centre 1992–2002, 2004
5 Martin Offiah (MBE) Wing 1991–1996
6 Henry Paul Five-eighth 1994–1998
7 Shaun Edwards (OBE) Halfback 1983–1996
8 Craig Smith Prop 2002–2004
9 Terry Newton Hooker 2000–2005
10 Terry O'Connor Prop 1994–2004
11 Denis Betts Second-row 1986–1995, 1998–2001
12 Mick Cassidy Second-row 1990–2004
13 Andy Farrell (OBE) Lock 1991–2004

Notes

  1. ^ Ceremony held in 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
  2. ^ First Wigan Warriors Women player

Reference

Inline
  1. ^ a b "Sporting digest: Rugby League". The Independent. 20 March 1998. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  2. ^ "Wigan to Honour Dean Bell". Wigan Warriors. 7 February 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  3. ^ "Ellery Hanley Inducted into Wigan Hall of Fame". Wigan Warriors. 11 September 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "Three Legends Honoured". Wigan Warriors. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  5. ^ Wilkinson, Phil (14 November 2020). "Hall of Fame honour for retiring Sean O'Loughlin". Wigan Today. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Radlinski inducted into Hall of Fame - Wigan Warriors". 4 September 2022.
  7. ^ https://wiganwarriors.com/blog/2023/10/09/warriors-2023-awards-dinner/
  8. ^ https://www.wiganwarriors.com/teams/hall-of-fame
  9. ^ https://www.wiganwarriorsfans.com/viewtopic.php?t=35664
  10. ^ https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/rugby-league/wigan-warriors/zak-hardaker-picks-up-trio-of-honours-at-wigan-warriors-end-of-season-awards-932389
  11. ^ https://wiganwarriors.com/blog/2020/11/20/2020-awards-night-winners/
  12. ^ https://wiganwarriors.com/blog/2021/10/04/end-of-season-awards/
  13. ^ https://wiganwarriors.com/blog/2022/09/05/warriors-2022-season-awards/
  14. ^ https://wiganwarriors.com/blog/2023/10/09/warriors-2023-awards-dinner/
  15. ^ https://wiganwarriors.com/ (Search "Player of the Year")
  16. ^ "Team of the Decade". wiganwarriors.com (Wigan Warriors). Archived from the original on 22 May 2009. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
General