Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Bright Sodje | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | 21 April 1966 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby league | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Wing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 22 May 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Relatives | Akpo Sodje (brother) Efe Sodje (brother) Onome Sodje (nephew) Sam Sodje (brother) Tai Sodje (son) |
Bright Ojamohare Sodje (born 21 April 1966) is a retired dual-code rugby player, who played for rugby league clubs; the Wakefield Trinity (Wildcats), Hull Kingston Rovers, and the Sheffield Eagles in England as well as rugby union for Wakefield RFC.
Sodje's brothers, Sam, Efe, Akpo, Steve, and his nephew, Onome, have all played professional football in England.
Bright was a winger with a reputation for scoring tries, and noted for his aeroplane style celebration.
In 2000, at the height of a financial crisis at Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, the contracts of all players aged over 24 were terminated during September 2000. The players affected were; Andy Fisher, Bobbie Goulding, Warren Jowitt, Tony Kemp (player-coach), Steve McNamara, Francis Maloney, Martin Masella, Steve Prescott, Bright Sodje, Francis Stephenson and Glen Tomlinson. [1]
In September 2017, Bright was sentenced to 21 months in prison for fraud, having – with his brothers Efe and Stephen – siphoned off money from a charity, the Sodje Sports Foundation. [2]
His son, Tai, is a professional footballer, and currently plays for the academy team of Manchester City. [3]
Okeremute Samuel Sodje is a former professional footballer who played as a centre back.
Glenn Adam Morrison, is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. He played for the Parramatta Eels, the Balmain Tigers, the North Sydney Bears and the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League before moving to England to play for the Bradford Bulls and then the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats (captain). He was later the head coach of the Dewsbury Rams. In 2021, Morrison was appointed Head coach of Cleveland Rugby League, in the newly created North American Rugby League.
Robert Dennis "Bobbie" Goulding, also known by the nickname of "Bobbie Dazzler", is an English former professional rugby league footballer, and coach, who played in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, and has coached in the 2000s and 2010s.
Efetobore Peter "Efe" Sodje is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back for several English football league clubs. He represented Nigeria in the 2000 African Cup of Nations and the 2002 World Cup.
Steve McNamara is an English professional rugby league football coach who is the head coach of the Catalans Dragons in the Betfred Super League and a former professional player. He is a former coach of England, and a Great Britain international as a player.
Idoro Akpoeyere Ujoma "Akpo" Sodje is an English former professional footballer. A journeyman striker, he is usually an instantly recognisable figure on the pitch due to his original – and most of all colourful – hairstyles.
Lee St Hilaire is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 2000s. He played at club level for the Huddersfield Giants, Castleford Tigers, Keighley and the Hunslet Hawks, as a hooker.
Darrell Griffin is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays for the Keighley Cougars in League 1. An England international representative prop, his former clubs include the Oxford Cavaliers, the London Broncos (Academy), the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, the Huddersfield Giants, the Salford Red Devils, the Leeds Rhinos and Featherstone Rovers.
Matt "Matty" Blaymire is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He played at club level for York City Knights and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats as a fullback.
Stephen Prescott was a professional rugby league footballer who played as a fullback during the 1990s and 2000s.
Francis Stephenson is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s, and was the Operations Director at the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.
Martin Masella is a Tongan former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He was a Tonga international and played at the 1995 Rugby League World Cup. Masella played for the Leeds Rhinos as a prop in their 1998 Super League Grand Final defeat by the Wigan Warriors. Masella captained Tonga in the 2000 Rugby League World Cup.
Francis "Frank" Maloney is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a utility back, recognised for his ability to play in the halves and the back line. He played at the top tier of English rugby league for Leeds, Featherstone Rovers, Warrington, Oldham Bears, Castleford Tigers, Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, and Salford City Reds. He went on to play for Batley, Dewsbury Rams and the Hunslet Hawks in the Championship before retiring from playing in 2008.
Andy Kelly, also known by the nicknames of "Boot", and "Big Andy", is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. He played at representative level for England, and at club level for Wakefield Trinity (captain), Hull Kingston Rovers and the Illawarra Steelers, as a second-row, and has coached at representative level for Ireland, and at club level for Wakefield Trinity/Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, Gateshead Thunder, Featherstone Rovers and the Dewsbury Rams.
Glen Tomlinson is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played at club level for Batley Bulldogs, Bradford Bulls, Hull FC and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats as a five-eighth or halfback. A stand at Batley Bulldogs' ground, Mount Pleasant is named after Glen Tomlinson.
Andrew Fisher is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, and coached in the 2000s. He played at club level for Featherstone Rovers, Castleford, Dewsbury Rams, Hull FC, Wakefield Trinity (Wildcats) and the Barrow Raiders, as a prop or second-row, and coached at club level for the Dewsbury Rams, Sharlston Rovers and the Eastmoor Dragons.
Warren Jowitt, also known by the nickname of "Woz", is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s,Jowitt was known for his hard running and uncompromising defence and was a no-nonsense kind of player coached in the 2000s and 2010s.
Stuart Howarth is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker or loose forward for the Rochdale Hornets in Betfred League 1.
William Oakes is a Scotland international rugby league footballer who plays on the wing for the Bradford Bulls in the Betfred Championship.
Taione Richard Evumena "Tai" Sodje is an English professional footballer currently playing as a forward for Manchester City.