Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | Warrington, Cheshire, England | 8 December 1981||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 14 st 13 lb (95 kg) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Loose forward, Second-row | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Coaching information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 28 April 2022 |
Simon Finnigan (born 8 December 1981) [4] is a rugby league coach and former player who was most recently the head coach of the Widnes Vikings in Betfred Championship and was previously head coach at Newcastle Thunder and an assistant coach at the Toronto Wolfpack. An Ireland international second-row, he played in the Super League for the Widnes Vikings, Salford City Reds, Bradford Bulls and the Huddersfield Giants, and in the Championship for the Leigh Centurions.
Simon Finnigan was born in Warrington, Cheshire, England, he grew up in Australia, playing for the Penrith Panthers junior teams before joining Widnes Vikings in 2003.
Finnigan played three season in Super League for Widnes Vikings, before leaving following the club's relegation at the end of the 2005 Super League season. He subsequently joined Salford City Reds, where he played for two seasons before again leaving when the club was relegated at the end of the 2007 Super League season. He signed for Bradford Bulls in September 2007 and stayed for one year before joining Huddersfield Giants in 2009. He rejoined Widnes Vikings in 2011, before finishing his career with Leigh Centurions in 2013. He announced his retirement from the sport in January 2014.
He was named in the Ireland training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, [5] and the Ireland squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. [6]
He was again named in the Ireland squad for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, and made two appearances in the tournament, his final rugby league match being Ireland's defeat against Australia.
Year | Club | Apps | Pts | T | G | FG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | Widnes Vikings | 19 | 4 | 1 | - | - |
2004 | Widnes Vikings | 25 | 32 | 8 | – | - |
2005 | Widnes Vikings | 26 | 48 | 12 | – | - |
2006 | Salford City Reds | 25 | 48 | 12 | - | - |
2007 | Salford City Reds | 25 | 20 | 5 | - | - |
2008 | Bradford Bulls | 26 | 28 | 7 | - | - |
2009 | Huddersfield Giants | 20 | 20 | 5 | - | - |
2010 | Huddersfield Giants | 7 | 4 | 1 | - | - |
2012 | Widnes Vikings | 10 | 0 | 0 | - | - |
Year | Team | Matches | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008–13 | Ireland | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
After retiring as a player, Finnigan moved into coaching become assistant coach at the Toronto Wolfpack. In 20219 he became head coach of Newcastle Thunder then in League 1, the third tier of rugby league in the United Kingdom. [7]
Finnigan was appointed the head coach of the Widnes Vikings in the Championship (the second tier) in November 2020 but left the club in April 2022 by "mutual consent". [8]
Gareth Hock is an English former professional rugby league footballer who previously played as a second-row, loose forward or prop for the Leigh Centurions in the Betfred Championship. He has represented Great Britain and England at international level.
Robert James Beswick is a former rugby league footballer who played as a hooker or loose forward. He started his professional career in 2004 with the Wigan Warriors in the Super League. He left the club in 2006 and spent the next ten seasons in the Championship with the Widnes Vikings, Halifax and the Leigh Centurions. In 2017, Beswick joined the Toronto Wolfpack and played in the club's inaugural league game before finishing his career with Newcastle Thunder. Beswick also represented at Ireland at international level, and was capped 26 times between 2006 and 2019.
Karl Harrison is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 2000s and 2010s. He played at representative level for both Great Britain and England, and at club level for Bramley, Featherstone Rovers, Hull F.C. and Halifax, as a prop. and has coached at representative level for England, and at club level for Halifax Blue Sox, the Keighley Cougars, the Bradford Bulls, the Salford City Reds, the Huddersfield Giants, the Batley Bulldogs and Halifax. Harrison is a Halifax Hall of Fame Inductee.
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Ian Watson is a professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Huddersfield Giants in the Betfred Super League, and a former Wales international who played as a scrum-half or hooker in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s.
Paul Rowley is an English rugby league coach and former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is the current head-coach of Salford Red Devils. An England representative hooker, he played at club level for Leigh, Halifax and Huddersfield. After retiring as a player, Rowley began a coaching career and was appointed head coach of Leigh in 2012, leading the club to Championship titles in 2014 and 2015 before departing at the beginning of the 2016 season. He subsequently was the head coach of the Toronto Wolfpack in the Betfred Championship.
Tom Olbison is an English professional rugby league footballer who last played as a second-row forward for the Toronto Wolfpack in the Betfred Super League
The Rugby League Reserve Team Championship is a rugby league competition for the reserve teams of the British-based Super League clubs. Having a reserve team is a compulsory part of the minimum criteria to hold a Super League licence, but Catalans Dragons have dispensation to run their reserve team in the French Elite League for logistical reasons.
Andrew Dixon is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for Salford Red Devils in the Betfred Super League.
Adam Sidlow is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Salford Red Devils in the Betfred Super League.
Gareth "Gaz" O'Brien is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback, scrum-half or stand-off for the Leigh Leopards in the Betfred Super League.
Oliver Roberts is an Ireland international rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row and loose forward for Sheffield Eagles in the RFL Championship.
Ben Evans, also known by the nickname of "Bev", is a Welsh professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Barrow Raiders in the Betfred Championship and Wales at international level.
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Kurt Haggerty is a professional rugby league coach who is the assistant coach for the Salford Red Devils in the Super League. He played in the 2000s and 2010s as a second-row and loose forward.
Ben Hellewell is a Scotland international rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for Salford Red Devils in the Betfred Super League.
Ed Chamberlain is an Ireland international rugby league footballer who plays as a centre and winger for the Leigh Leopards in the Betfred Super League.
James Harrison is a rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row, prop or loose forward for the Warrington Wolves in the Super League.
The 2017 Toronto Wolfpack season was the inaugural season for the Toronto Wolfpack rugby league football club. The Wolfpack finished 1st in League 1, winning 20 of their 22 matches, and earned promotion to 2018 Rugby League Championship.