Andy Coley

Andrew Scott Coley (born 7 July 1978) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a prop and second-row forward in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. A Great Britain and England international forward, he played in the Super League for the Salford City Reds and the Wigan Warriors.[3]

Andy Coley
Personal information
Full nameAndrew Scott Coley[1]
Born (1978-07-07) 7 July 1978 (age 45)
Warrington, Cheshire, England
Playing information
Height6 ft 3 in (1.90 m)
Weight16 st 5 lb (104 kg) [2]
PositionProp, Second-row
Club
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
1997–00Swinton Lions64200080
2001–07Salford City Reds1915000200
2008–11Wigan Warriors125130052
Total3808300332
Representative
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
2001Lancashire10000
2004England340016
2007Great Britain10000
Source: [3][4][5][6]

Career

Early career

Born in Warrington, Coley began playing rugby league for local amateur side Laporte ARL.[7]

Swinton Lions

He turned professional in 1997, joining the Swinton Lions.

In March 2000, Coley suffered a cruciate ligament injury, which ruled him out for the rest of the season.[8]

Salford City Reds

In 2001, Coley signed for Salford City Reds as a second-row prior to the 2001's Super League VI, but subsequently moved up into the front row. Coley impressed in his first season at the club, and was rewarded with a new four-year contract.[9] He required another knee operation at the end of the year, which ruled him out of the first few months of the 2002 season.[10]

In 2004, Coley signed a new three-year contract with Salford.[11]

Coley agreed a deal to join Wigan Warriors in September 2007 from Salford City Reds who were relegated in the 2007 Super League season.[12]

Wigan Warriors

Coley was first team prop at the Wigan Warriors since his arrival.

He played in the 2010 Super League Grand Final victory over St Helens at Old Trafford.[13]

Coley played as a prop forward in the 2011 Challenge Cup Final victory over the Leeds Rhinos at Wembley Stadium.[14][15] Shortly before the final, Coley announced he would be retiring from rugby league at the end of the 2011 season.[16]

Representative career

Coley's first representative honours came in 2001 when he represented Lancashire.

In 2004, he was selected for England during their victorious European Nations Cup campaign, scoring a hat trick of tries on his England début against Russia.

In 2006, he received his first call-up for Great Britain when he was selected for the 2006 Tri Nations. He appeared as a substitute in a warm-up game against Newcastle,[17] but did not feature in any Test matches during the tournament. In June 2007, Coley won his first and only cap for Great Britain in a 42–14 win against France.[18]

Post-playing career

Coley is a qualified quantity surveyor, and became Operations Director of a company in the construction industry.[19]

References