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Paul Sykes (rugby league)

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Paul Sykes
Personal information
Full namePaul Sykes
Born (1981-08-11) 11 August 1981 (age 43)
Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight14 st 7 lb (92 kg)[1]
Playing information
Rugby league
PositionFullback, Centre, Stand-off
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1999–02 Bradford Bulls 9 2 3 0 14
2001(loan) → London Broncos 9 1 23 1 51
2002–07 London Broncos 128 48 263 3 721
2008–12 Bradford Bulls 100 36 72 2 290
2012(loan) → Wakefield Trinity 22 3 73 3 161
2013–14 Wakefield Trinity 40 9 65 3 169
2015 Featherstone Rovers 34 18 104 0 280
2016– Dewsbury Rams 172 29 463 9 1051
Total 514 146 1066 21 2737
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2005–09 England 5 2 6 0 20
2007 Great Britain 1 1 0 0 4
Rugby union
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1999(loan) Wakefield RFC 1 0 0 0 0
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
2022 (Interim) 
coachyear1end   =
Dewsbury Rams 2 0 0 2 0
As of 24 March 2024

Paul Sykes (born 11 August 1981) is an English Professional Rugby League player who plays as a stand-off for Dewsbury Rams in the Betfred League 1.

Sykes came through the ranks at Bradford Bulls making his debut in 1999. He left the Bulls in 2002 for London Broncos before resigning for them in 2008. Sykes also spent time at Wakefield Trinity and Featherstone Rovers.

Sykes made his debut for England national team in 2005 and also went on to represent Great Britain.

In 2022, he was appointed interim head-coach at Dewsbury Rams following the departure of Lee Greenwood.[3][4]

At age 43, he is the oldest English Professional Rugby League player playing for Dewsbury Rams in the Betfred League 1.

Background

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Sykes was born in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England.

Bradford

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Paul Sykes is a product of Bradford Bulls academy, making his breakthrough in the 1999 Bradford season during 1999's Super League IV. However opportunities at Odsal Stadium were limited and so Sykes went on loan spells at London in both the 2001 and 2002 seasons.

In his first spell at Bradford Bulls, he was loaned out to Wakefield RFC for which he played one game of Rugby Union.

Sykes playing for Harlequins Rugby League

Move to London

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With the promise of more regular first XIII rugby Sykes moved south to join the London Broncos in a permanent deal in August 2002.

Sykes soon settled back to life in the capital and representative honours were gained with an appearance for England "A" against New Zealand in October, followed by a place on the successful "A" team tour to Fiji and Tonga.

Sykes has further earned England caps against Russia and Wales in 2003 and France and New Zealand in 2005.[5]

Sykes originally came to the club as full-back, but the arrival of club captain Mark McLinden has seen Sykes operate largely in the centres in Super League X and XI.

Sykes successfully converted during 2005 to the centre position where his powerful running and strong tackling are seen to their best advantage.

Super League XI saw Sykes ruled out for much of the season after damaging his kidneys in February. However he made a comeback towards the end of the season after initially being ruled out for the entire campaign

2005 was a record breaking year for Sykes. On 27 February against the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, Sykes kicked 12 goals from 12 attempts to break a 17-year-old London club record.

Further records for most goals and most points followed at the season's end and in recognition of these achievements Sykes was voted Supporters' Player-of-the-Year for 2005. Harlequins centre Sykes has confirmed his expected move to Bradford for next season on a two-year contract.

Sykes, who made his Great Britain début earlier this season, left Bradford on loan in 2002 to find first-team rugby.

Quins coach Brian McDermott also paid tribute to Sykes' contribution at the Stoop.

Bradford and the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats

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Sykes signed for Bradford Bulls in September 2007 as a replacement for the departing Ben Harris.

On rejoining Bradford he said: "A lot's changed at Bradford since the first time around and I think there's only Paul Deacon and Jamie Langley still there. "But I'm ready for a fresh challenge and I'm hoping to move back north to win some silverware. Bradford are always challenging and I'm glad I'm going to be a part of that. "Also, my girlfriend has just given birth to our first child as well and we want to be closer to our family." Boss Steve McNamara reckons he has picked up a rare talent, and added "I'm absolutely delighted to have secured an outstanding English centre and thank the board for making the deal possible".

In the 2012 season Sykes was loaned out to fellow West Yorkshire club the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats after only playing 2 games for Bradford Bulls. Here he managed to help lead the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats into the play-offs ironically at the expense of Bradford Bulls. Sykes soon signed a permanent one-year deal with the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats for the 2013 season.

Career statistics

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Season Club Apps Tries Goals F/G Points
1999 Bradford Bulls 4 0 0 0 0
2000 Bradford Bulls 2 2 0 0 4
2001 Bradford Bulls 0 0 0 0 0
2001 London Broncos 9 1 23 1 51
2002 Bradford Bulls 3 0 3 0 6
2002 London Broncos 16 2 14 0 36
2003 London Broncos 17 6 1 0 26
2004 London Broncos 27 6 68 0 160
2005 London Broncos 32 14 133 2 324
2006 Harlequins RL 8 2 9 0 26
2007 Harlequins RL 28 18 39 1 151
2008 Bradford Bulls 29 16 3 0 70
2009 Bradford Bulls 26 10 17 0 74
2010 Bradford Bulls 27 4 48 2 114
2011 Bradford Bulls 16 6 2 0 28
2012 Bradford Bulls 2 0 2 0 4
2012 Wakefield Trinity 22 3 73 3 161
2013 Wakefield Trinity 16 5 37 2 96
2014 Wakefield Trinity 24 4 28 1 73
2015 Featherstone Rovers 34 18 104 0 280
2016 Dewsbury Rams 2 1 5 1 15
2017 Dewsbury Rams 3 2 9 0 26
2018 Dewsbury Rams 0
2019 Dewsbury Rams 23 5 47 3 117
2020 Dewsbury Rams 5 1 21 0 46
2021 Dewsbury Rams 19 1 42 2 90
2022 Dewsbury Rams 23 3 32 1 77
2023 Dewsbury Rams 18 3 85 1 183
2024 Dewsbury Rams 0 0 0 0 0
Total 487 141 963 20 2,510

Great Britain

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In June 2007 Sykes was called up to the Great Britain squad[7][8] and will play in the centres in the Test match against France.[9]

Sykes is joined in the Great Britain Test side by Harlequins RL teammate Chris Melling.[10]

Sykes made his Great Britain début in the 42–14 victory over the French on 22 June 2007, scoring one try.[11][12]

England

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In September 2008 he was named in the England training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup,[13] and in October 2008 he was named in the final 24-man England squad.[14]

He has been named in the England team to face Wales at the Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster, prior to England's departure for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.[15]

Sykes has also represented the England in their warm up match against Wales before the 2009 Four Nations.

References

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  1. ^ "The official Engage Super League web site". web page. Super League. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  2. ^ Rugby League Project Coaches
  3. ^ a b "Profile at loverugbyleague.com". loverugbyleague.com. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  5. ^ a b "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 30 November 1994. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  6. ^ "Player Summary: Paul Sykes". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  7. ^ "Eight new faces in Lions squad". BBC. 12 June 2007. Retrieved 12 June 2007.
  8. ^ "Melling and Sykes named in GB squad". Quins RL. 13 June 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
  9. ^ "New-look GB select five new caps". BBC. 20 June 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
  10. ^ "Melling and Sykes to play at Headingley". Quins. 20 June 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
  11. ^ "Great Britain 42–14 France". BBC. 22 June 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
  12. ^ "Hungry Lions Please Smith". SportingLife. 22 June 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
  13. ^ "Myler gets England call". England Rugby League. 29 September 2008. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2008.
  14. ^ "Purdham earns World Cup call-up". BBC. 7 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  15. ^ "Gleeson to lead new-look England". BBC. 9 October 2008. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
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