Mike McMeeken

Mike McMeeken

Personal information
Full name	Michael Joseph McMeeken [1]
Born	(1994-05-10) 10 May 1994 (age 29) Basingstoke, Hampshire, England
Height	6 ft 5 in (1.95 m)
Weight	15 st 13 lb (101 kg) [2]
Playing information
Position	Second-row
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2012–14 London Broncos 37 5 0 0 20 2014(DR Tooltip Super League#Dual registration) → London Skolars 3 1 0 0 4 2015–20 Castleford Tigers 139 34 0 0 136 2021– Catalans Dragons 58 16 0 0 64 Total 237 56 0 0 224 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2017–22 England 9 1 0 0 4
Source: [3] [4] [5] As of 5 November 2022

Mike McMeeken (born 10 May 1994) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for the Catalans Dragons in the Super League and England at international level. ^[5]

He started his career in the Super League with the London Broncos, also playing on loan in League 1 at the London Skolars before joining the Tigers in 2015. He joined Catalans Dragons in December 2020, ahead of the 2021 season. ^[6]

Background

McMeeken was born in Basingstoke, and raised in Fleet, Hampshire, England. ^[7]

He initially played rugby union from an early age, but was introduced to rugby league at ten years old, and began playing for amateur side West London Sharks. ^{[8] [9]}

Club career

He started his professional career at London Broncos, making his senior début in 2012. During the 2014 season, he scored his first try for the club in a defeat against Salford Red Devils. ^[10] He also spent time at Championship One clubs London Skolars and Hemel Stags on dual-registration. ^{[11] [12]}

Following London's relegation from Super League at the end of the 2014 season, McMeeken joined Castleford Tigers on a two-year deal. ^[13] He then signed a two-year extension, keeping him at Castleford until 2018. ^[14]

In 2017, McMeeken signed a further two-year extension until the end of the 2020 season. ^[15] He played in the 2017 Super League Grand Final defeat by Leeds at Old Trafford. ^{[16] [17] [18]}

In December 2020, McMeeken signed a two-year contract with Catalans Dragons. ^[19] On 9 October 2021, he played for Catalans Dragons in their 2021 Super League Grand Final defeat against St Helens. ^[20]

In April 2022, McMeeken signed a two year contract extension with Catalans. ^[21] On 14 October 2023, McMeeken played in Catalans 2023 Super League Grand Final loss against Wigan. ^[22]

International career

In 2011, McMeeken was selected in the England academy squad. ^[9]

In February 2017, he was included in the England elite performance squad announced by coach Wayne Bennett. ^[23] In May 2017, McMeeken made his international début for the England senior team in the 30–10 victory over Samoa in Campbelltown Australia. ^[24] He was also selected in the England squad for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, ^[25] making one appearance during the tournament in England's 36–6 win against France. ^[26]

McMeeken was recalled to the England setup in 2022, and was selected for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. He played in four of England's five games, scoring his first international try against Greece. ^[27]

References

1. Companies House
2. "Castleford Tigers 1st Team Mike McMeeken". Official Castleford Tigers web site. Castleford Tigers Rugby League Football Club Ltd. 2015. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
3. London Official
4. "Player Summary: Mike McMeeken". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
5. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
6. "Mike McMeeken: Castleford's England international forward joins Catalans Dragons". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
7. "From Basingstoke to Perpignan: Mike McMeeken takes the road less travelled to World Cup" . The Times. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
8. Smith, Peter (28 November 2014). "Castleford Tigers: McMeeken intent on earning his stripes". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
9. "Harlequins' Mike McMeekan selected for England academy". BBC Sport. 6 October 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
10. "Red Devils too good for Broncos". Eurosport. 22 February 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
11. "Gateshead Thunder 24 London Skolars 16". London Skolars. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
12. "Bloomfield's road to recovery". Oldham Evening Chronicle. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
13. Bower, Aaron (11 September 2014). "Cas sign London Broncos duo Moore and McMeeken". Total Rugby League. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
14. "Mike McMeeken: Castleford Tigers forward extends deal". BBC Sport. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
15. "Mike McMeeken: Castleford Tigers second row signs two-year contract extension". BBC Sport. 5 July 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
16. "Castleford 6-24 Leeds: Grand Final 2017 – as it happened". Guardian. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
17. "Grand Final 2017: Castleford 6-24 Leeds Rhinos". BBC Sport. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
18. "Danny McGuire guides Leeds to Grand Final success over Castleford". Guardian. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
19. "Mike McMeeken: Castleford's England international forward joins Catalans Dragons". BBC Sport. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
20. "Super League Grand Final: Catalans Dragons 10-12 St Helens: Saints win three in a row". BBC Sport.
21. "Mike McMeeken: Catalans Dragons back-rower signs two-year extension". BBC Sport. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
22. Bower, Aaron (14 October 2023). "Wigan Warriors crowned Super League champions after downing Dragons". The Observer.
23. "Mike McMeeken quick to appreciate influence of Castleford Tigers' coach Daryl Powell". Yorkshire Post. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
24. "England v Samoa: Chris McQueen & Mike McMeeken to make international debuts". BBC Sport. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
25. "England rugby league World Cup squad revealed - and James Roby is back in the fold". Mirror. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
26. "Fixtures". European Rugby League. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
27. "Rugby League World Cup: England rout Greece with 17 tries as Dom Young helps secure Group A top spot". Sky Sports. 29 October 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2023.

External links

• Castleford Tigers profile
• (archived by web.archive.org) Profile at castigers.com
• SL profile
• 2017 Statistics at rlwc2017.com
• England profile