Joe Rafferty

For the politicians, see Joe Rafferty (Australian politician) and Joe Rafferty (Maine politician).

Joe Rafferty

Rafferty in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Joseph Gerard Rafferty [1]
Date of birth	(1993-10-06) 6 October 1993 (age 31) [2]
Place of birth	Liverpool, England
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) [3]
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Rotherham United
Number	2
Youth career
2003–2012	Liverpool
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012–2019	Rochdale	214	(3)
2019–2022	Preston North End	61	(1)
2022–2024	Portsmouth	64	(0)
2024–	Rotherham United	0	(0)
International career‡
2010–2011	Republic of Ireland U18	3	(0)
2011	Republic of Ireland U19	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:10, 9 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18:09, 26 October 2013 (UTC)

Joseph Gerard Rafferty (born 6 October 1993) is a professional footballer who plays for EFL League One club Rotherham United.

Rafferty can operate as a fullback, wingback and as a midfielder. Born in England, he has represented the Republic of Ireland at youth level. He was born and raised in the city of Liverpool where he started his footballing career. Rafferty has played internationally for the Republic of Ireland three times at under-18 and once at under-19 level.

Club career

Liverpool

Rafferty spent his youth career with Liverpool, and in 2011 was made captain of the Under-18 side. ^[4] Whilst at Liverpool he was capped by the Republic of Ireland at Under 18 level making his debut in 2010 in the Jerez tournament against Czech Republic in Prague. ^[5] The following season Rafferty represented Republic of Ireland at Under 19 levels. ^[6]

Rochdale

He joined Football League Two side Rochdale on 2 July 2012. ^[7] On 4 September 2012 Rafferty made his first-team debut for Rochdale in the Football League Trophy against Fleetwood Town coming on as an 82nd-minute substitute for Brian Barry-Murphy. ^[8] On 16 May 2013 Rafferty signed a new 1-year contract at Rochdale. on 8 October 2013 Rafferty scored his first professional goal with a header against Port Vale in the Football League Trophy.

On 26 April 2014 Rafferty was part of the Rochdale team which won promotion to League One. On 1 July 2014, Rafferty agreed a new two-year contract extending his stay at Spotland until May 2016. ^[9]

At the end of the 2016–17 season, Rochdale AFC confirmed Rafferty had signed a new two-year deal with the club. At the end of season awards Rafferty won both the Rochdale supporters player of the year and the SMAC Dale supporters club player of the year. ^[10]

Preston North End

On 23 January 2019 Rafferty joined Preston North End on a three-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee. Rafferty scored his first goal for the club away at Swansea on 17 August 2019. ^[11]

Rafferty was released at the end of the 2021–22 season. ^[12]

Portsmouth

On 11 July 2022, Rafferty joined League One club Portsmouth on a two-year deal. ^[13] In the 2023–24 season, Rafferty made 42 appearances as the club were crowned as champions of the division. ^{[14] [15]} On 1 May 2024 the club said the player would be released in the summer when his contract expired. ^[16]

Rotherham United

On 20 May 2024, it was announced that Rafferty would sign for newly-relegated League One side Rotherham United on a two-year deal. ^[14]

Career statistics

As of match played 27 April 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Rochdale	2012–13 [17]	League Two	21	0	0	0	0	0	2 [a]	0	23	0
	2013–14 [18]	League Two	31	0	1	0	1	0	1 [a]	1	34	1
	2014–15 [19]	League One	31	1	5	0	1	0	2 [a]	0	39	1
	2015–16 [20]	League One	31	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	33	1
	2016–17 [21]	League One	40	0	5	0	2	0	3 [b]	0	50	0
	2017–18 [22]	League One	33	1	6	0	2	0	4 [b]	0	45	1
	2018–19 [23]	League One	27	0	2	0	2	0	2 [b]	1	33	1
	Total		214	3	19	0	10	0	14	2	257	5
Preston North End	2018–19 [23]	Championship	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
	2019–20 [24]	Championship	29	1	1	0	3	0	0	0	33	1
	2020–21 [25]	Championship	21	0	1	0	3	0	0	0	25	0
	2021–22 [26]	Championship	5	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	8	1
	Total		61	1	2	0	9	1	0	0	72	2
Portsmouth	2022–23 [27]	League One	25	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	26	0
	2023–24 [28]	League One	39	0	1	0	0	0	2 [b]	0	42	0
	Total		64	0	1	0	1	0	2	0	68	0
Career total			339	4	22	0	20	1	16	2	397	7

1. Appearances in Football League Trophy
2. Appearances in EFL Trophy

Honours

Portsmouth

• EFL League One: 2023–24 ^[14]

Individual

• Rochdale Player of the Year: 2016–17 ^[29]

References

1. "Professional retain list & free transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. 18 May 2013. p. 69. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
2. "Joe Rafferty". 11v11. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
3. "Joe Rafferty". Portsmouth F.C. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
4. Pearce, James (1 September 2011). "Joe Rafferty speaks of pride at captaining Liverpool FC under-18s". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
5. "Late brace condemns U18s to defeat". Football Association of Ireland. 25 August 2010. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
6. "Under-19s lose season opener". Football Association of Ireland. 9 August 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
7. "McIntyre, Rafferty and Edwards join Rochdale". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
8. "Rochdale 2–2 Fleetwood Town". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
9. "Contracts: Bunney, Rafferty & Rose". Rochdale A.F.C. Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
10. "Joe Rafferty Commits His Future To Rochdale Football Club" . Retrieved 31 May 2017.
11. "Swansea 3–2 Preston". BBC. 17 August 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
12. "Preston North End Retained List Confirmed". www.pnefc.net. 9 May 2022.
13. "Pompey Complete Rafferty Signing". www.portsmouthfc.co.uk. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
14. "Rotherham bring in Rafferty and McWilliams". BBC Sport. 20 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
15. "Portsmouth 3–2 Barnsley: Pompey seal promotion to Championship with dramatic win". Sky Sports. 16 April 2024. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
16. "Pompey Retained List: Summer 2024". www.portsmouthfc.co.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
17. "Games played by Joe Rafferty in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
18. "Games played by Joe Rafferty in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
19. "Games played by Joe Rafferty in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
20. "Games played by Joe Rafferty in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
21. "Games played by Joe Rafferty in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
22. "Games played by Joe Rafferty in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
23. "Games played by Joe Rafferty in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
24. "Games played by Joe Rafferty in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
25. "Games played by Joe Rafferty in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
26. "Games played by Joe Rafferty in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
27. "Games played by Joe Rafferty in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
28. "Games played by Joe Rafferty in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
29. "Joe Rafferty Commits His Future To Rochdale Football Club". Rochdale AFC. 19 May 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2023.

External links

• Joseph Rafferty at Soccerbase