Andy Coley
GB & England international rugby league footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Andrew Scott Coley[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 7 July 1978 Warrington, Cheshire, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.90 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 16 st 5 lb (104 kg) [2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Prop, Second-row | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career
Early career
Born in Warrington, Coley began playing rugby league for local amateur side Laporte ARL.[5]
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.[6]
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.[7] He required another knee operation at the end of the year, which ruled him out of the first few months of the 2002 season.[8]
In 2004, Coley signed a new three-year contract with Salford.[9]
Coley agreed a deal to join Wigan Warriors in September 2007 from Salford City Reds who were relegated in the 2007 Super League season.[10]
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.[11]
Coley played as a prop forward in the 2011 Challenge Cup Final victory over the Leeds Rhinos at Wembley Stadium.[12][13] Shortly before the final, Coley announced he would be retiring from rugby league at the end of the 2011 season.[14]
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,[15] 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.[16]
Post-playing career
Coley is a qualified quantity surveyor, and became Operations Director of a company in the construction industry.[17]