Aiden Tolman

Aiden Tolman

Personal information
Born	(1988-11-10) 10 November 1988 (age 34) Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia
Height	183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	102 kg (16 st 1 lb)
Playing information
Position	Prop
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2008–10 Melbourne Storm 53 4 0 0 16 2011–20 Canterbury Bulldogs 222 10 0 0 40 2021–22 Cronulla Sharks 42 2 0 0 8 Total 317 16 0 0 64 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2011–14 NSW Country 3 0 0 0 0
Source: [1] As of 17 September 2022

Aiden Tolman (born 10 November 1988) is a former Australian professional rugby league footballer who last played as a prop for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL.

He previously played for the Melbourne Storm and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League, and played at representative level for NSW Country.

Early life

Tolman was born in Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia.

He was educated at St Paul's College, Kempsey and represented 2006 Australian Schoolboys. ^[2] He has also played for the Junior Kangaroos. ^[3]

Tolman played his junior football with the Smithtown Tigers and he has also played for the Central Coast Storm and the Queensland Cup side, Norths Devils. ^{[4] [5]}

Playing career

2008

Tolman made his first-grade debut for Melbourne Storm against the Canberra Raiders in round 6 of the 2008 season. ^[6] He has been compared to former Melbourne Storm player Robbie Kearns. ^[7] In 2008 he was named the Melbourne Storm rookie of the year. ^[8]

2009

He played in the 2009 premiership against Parramatta. This premiership was later stripped in 2010 by the NRL due to the club's multiple and deliberate breaches of the salary cap between 2006 and 2010. ^{[9] [10]}

2011

On 18 May 2010, he signed for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs for three years. ^[11]

In round one of the 2011 National Rugby League season Tolman made his debut for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs against the West Tigers at ANZ Stadium. Tolman finished the season with 21 appearances and six tries.

2012

In 2012, Tolman ended the season with 27 appearances and 3 tries. He achieved the coach's award for the club. Tolman played for Canterbury in the 2012 NRL Grand Final loss against his former club Melbourne at ANZ Stadium. ^{[12] [13]}

2013

The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs re-signed Tolman for a further four years, through until the end of season 2017. ^[14] For the second year in a row, Tolman once again received the coach's award from coach Des Hasler. ^[15] Tolman finished the season with 25 appearances and a try.

2014

Tolman played in Canterbury's 2014 NRL Grand Final loss against the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Tolman finished the season with 22 appearances and a try.

2015

Tolman played 21 games for Canterbury in the 2015 NRL season as the club qualified for the finals. Tolman played in both of Canterbury's finals matches as the club reached the second week but were eliminated by the Sydney Roosters. ^[16]

2016

On 6 December 2016, Tolman re-signed with Canterbury which would see him at the club until 2020. ^[17]

2017

On 27 May 2017, Tolman made 51 tackles, 17 hit ups for 148 running meters, and played 80 minutes, in round 12 against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. Tolman made a total of 24 appearances for Canterbury-Bankstown in the 2017 NRL season as they failed to reach the finals for the first time since 2011. ^[18]

2018

In 2018, Tolman made 16 appearances for Canterbury as the club endured one of its toughest seasons on the field. At one stage of the season, Canterbury were sitting second last on the table but rallied to achieve upset victories over the Brisbane Broncos, New Zealand Warriors and St George to finish the season in 12th place. ^[19]

2019

In round 15, Tolman made his 250th first grade appearance against Cronulla-Sutherland at ANZ Stadium which ended in a 14–12 victory to Canterbury-Bankstown. ^[20]

In round 20 against the Penrith Panthers, Tolman played his 200th game for Canterbury – just the 12th Canterbury player to do so – and achieved in inside of nine seasons. ^[21]

Tolman made a total of 23 appearances for Canterbury in the 2019 NRL season as the club finished 12th on the table. At one stage, Canterbury-Bankstown found themselves sitting last on the table and in real danger of finishing with the wooden spoon. However, for the third straight season, Canterbury achieved four upset victories in a row over Penrith, the Wests Tigers, South Sydney and Parramatta who were all competing for a place in the finals series and were higher on the table. Pay was credited with the late season revival as the side focused heavily on defense. ^{[22] [23]}

2020

In 2020, Tolman made 17 appearances for Canterbury as the club again endured one of its toughest seasons on the field. On 22 September, Tolman was told by Canterbury that his services would not be required in 2021 and that he would be released by the club. Tolman was one of eight players who were told they would be released as Canterbury looked to rebuild after a horror year on and off the field. ^[24]

In November 2020, Tolman signed a deal to join Cronulla-Sutherland for the 2021 season. ^[25]

2021

In round 1 of the 2021 NRL season, Tolman made his club debut for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in their 32–18 victory over the St. George Illawarra Dragons. Tolman played 45 minutes off the bench, running for 134 meters. ^[26]

In round 16, Tolman scored his first try for Cronulla-Sutherland during a 26–18 upset loss to the Brisbane Broncos. ^[27] Tolman played 21 games for Cronulla in the 2021 NRL season which saw the club narrowly miss the finals by finishing 9th on the table. ^[28]

2022

In round 4 of the 2022 NRL season, Tolman played his 300th first grade game for Cronulla in an 18–0 victory over the Newcastle Knights. Tolman scored the first try of the match. ^[29] On 25 August, Tolman announced he was retiring at the end of the season.^{[ citation needed ]}

Statistics

NRL

Season	Team	Matches	T	G	GK %	F/G	Pts
2008	Melbourne Storm	7	0	0	—	0	0
2009	Melbourne Storm	27	3	0	—	0	12
2010	Melbourne Storm	19	1	0/1	0.00%	0	4
2011	Canterbury-Bankstown	22	1	0	—	0	4
2012	Canterbury-Bankstown	27	1	0	—	0	4
2013	Canterbury-Bankstown	25	1	0	—	0	4
2014	Canterbury-Bankstown	22	2	0	—	0	8
2015	Canterbury-Bankstown	21	1	0	—	0	4
2016	Canterbury-Bankstown	25	1	0	—	0	4
2017	Canterbury-Bankstown	24	1	0	—	0	4
2018	Canterbury-Bankstown	16	0	0	—	0	0
2019	Canterbury-Bankstown	23	0	0	—	0	0
2020	Canterbury-Bankstown	17	2	0	—	0	8
2021	Cronulla-Sutherland	21	1	0	—	0	4
2022	Cronulla-Sutherland	21	1	0	—	0	4
Career totals		317	16	0/1	0.00%	0	64

City vs Country

Season	Team	Matches	T	G	GK %	F/G	Pts
2011	NSW Country	1	0	0	—	0	0
2013	NSW Country	1	0	0	—	0	0
2014	NSW Country	1	0	0	—	0	0
Career totals		3	0	0	—	0	0

References

1. "Aiden Tolman – Career Stats & Summary – Rugby League Project". Rugbyleagueproject.org.
2. "Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". Sporting Pulse. Archived from the original on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
3. "4 Devils in Junior Kangaroos". Norths Devils. 1 January 2007. Archived from the original on 8 May 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
4. "Player Information". RLeague.com. 23 April 2008. Archived from the original on 3 May 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
5. "Ashes To Ashes, Dust to Dust". QRL. 23 April 2008. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
6. "Docs fear Manu has broken ankle". Melbourne Storm. 22 April 2008. Archived from the original on 25 May 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
7. Donaghy, Dave (23 April 2008). "Storm player Aiden Tolman rides wave of success". Herald Sun. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
8. melbournestorm.com.au. "NRL Honour Board". Club. Melbourne Storm. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013.
9. "[1]". Archived from the original on 3 October 2009.
10. "'They are ours': Why Cameron Smith will always recognise Storm's stripped premierships". Fox Sports.
11. ^[ dead link ]
12. "Custom Match List – Rugby League Project". Rugbyleagueproject.org.
13. "Melbourne Storm beat Canterbury Bulldogs in 2012 NRL grand final". News.com.au.
14. "Tolman re-signs with Bulldogs on four-year deal". The Sydney Morning Herald . 1 May 2013.
15. "2013 Coaches Award: Aiden Tolman". Bulldogs.com.au. 28 October 2013.
16. "Sydney Roosters v Canterbury Bulldogs: Controversial try fuels massive win for minor premiers". Foxsports.com.au. 18 September 2015.
17. "Tolman re-signs with Bulldogs". ESPN. 6 December 2016.
18. "Bulldogs 2017 season review". Nrl.com. 4 September 2017.
19. "Canterbury Bulldogs 2018 season review". Nrl.com. 17 October 2018.
20. "'Toughest I've played with': Tolman does it his way to 250". Nrl.com. 29 June 2019.
21. "'Bulldogs celebrate Tolman's 200th'". Bulldogs.com.au.
22. "Spoons of wood, high hopes and chances lost... the final round storylines". Brisbane Times . 5 September 2019.
23. "The Dean Pay way: 'Unashamedly' old school". Nrl.com. September 2019.
24. "Dogs confirm EIGHT-man clean-out in first glimpse of Barrett era". Foxsports.com.au. 22 September 2020.
25. "Cronulla Sharks confirm signing of Bulldogs prop Aiden Tolman". Sportingnews.com.
26. "Sharks outlast Red V despite Dufty magic". Wwos.nine.com.au.
27. "Broncos v Sharks: Staggs, Oates back; Chambers on family duty". Nrl.com. 4 July 2021.
28. "Papenhuyzen back to best as Storm secure minor premiership". Nrl.com. 3 September 2021.
29. "Cronulla delight in Aiden Tolman's milestone game". ESPN.

External links

• Canterbury Bulldogs profile
• Bulldogs profile Archived 5 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine
• Melbourne Storm profile