Adrian Morley

Infobox rugby league biography
playername = Adrian Morley
fullname = Adrian Morley
nickname = Moz, Mozza, Captain Sent Off


image_size = 250px
caption =
country =
position = Prop / Second row
currentclub = leagueicon|Warrington|size=16 Warrington Wolves
dateofbirth = birth date and age|df=yes|1977|5|10
placeofbirth = Salford
countryofbirth = United Kingdom
height = 6 ft 3 in (1.90 m)
weight = 16 st 7 lbs (105 kg)
club1 = leagueicon|Leeds Rhinos|size=16 Leeds Rhinos
year1start = 1994
year1end = 2000
appearances1 = 149
tries1 =
goals1 =
fieldgoals1 =
points1 = 149
club2 = leagueicon|Sydney|size=16 Sydney Roosters
year2start = 2001
year2end = 2006
appearances2 = 113
tries2 =
goals2 =
fieldgoals2 =
points2 = 28
club3 = leagueicon|Bradford|size=16 Bradford Bulls
year3start = 2005
year3end =
appearances3 = 6
tries3 =
goals3 =
fieldgoals3 =
points3 = 0
club4 = leagueicon|Warrington|size=16 Warrington Wolves
year4start = 2006
year4end =
appearances4 = 40
tries4 =
goals4 =
fieldgoals4 =
points4 = 4
teamA = Flagicon|Great Britain Great Britain
yearAstart = 1996
yearAend =
appearancesA = 30
triesA =
goalsA =
fieldgoalsA =
pointsA = 4
teamB = Flagicon|England England
yearBstart = 1996
yearBend =
appearancesB = 4
triesB =
goalsB =
fieldgoalsB =
pointsB = 0
updated =
source =
new = yes Adrian Morley (born 10 May 1977 in Salford, Greater Manchester, UK) is a Great Britain rugby league footballer

A second or front-row forward, Morley's current club side is the Warrington Wolves, he has also played with Leeds in the English Super League competition. Morley has also spent six seasons playing with the Sydney Roosters in Australia in their major competition the National Rugby League(NRL).

Leeds

Morley won the Challenge Cup with Leeds Rhinos in 1999 defeating the London Broncos 52 - 16 at Wembley Stadium.

ydney Roosters

In 2001 Morley agreed to join former Leeds coach Graham Murray, who was coaching the Sydney Roosters in Australia. After taking twelve months to fully aclimatise the tough, hard line forward was a central figure in Sydney Roosters twelfth Premiership in 2002 - their first in twenty-seven years. The Sydney Roosters defeated the New Zealand Warriors 30 - 8 at Telstra Stadium. In a round 20 match towards the end of his final season (2006) with the Sydney Roosters, Adrian was sent off after attempting to knee Canterbury Bulldogs player Corey Hughes in the face as the player attempted to play the ball. After he was suspended for several weeks by the NRL judiciary the Sydney Roosters released him from contract, and he returned to the UK before season end. The uncompromising forward had helped Sydney Roosters to a World Club Challenge title as well as two further Grand Final appearances before rejoining English club, Warrington Wolves.

Representative career

In the 2003 Ashes series against Australia, Morley was sent off after just 12 seconds of the opening match for a high tackle on Robbie Kearns. This is the fastest dismissal in the history of Test rugby league.

He captained a Great Britain test side that faced France in 2007.

He has been named in the England training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup,cite web|url=http://www.englandrl.co.uk/article.php?id=11890|title=Myler gets England call|publisher=England Rugby League|date=2008-09-29|accessdate=2008-10-03] and in October 2008 he was named in the final 24-man England squad.cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/7656553.stm|title=Purdham earns World Cup call-up|publisher=BBC|date=2008-10-07|accessdate=2008-10-07]

He has been named in the England team to face Wales at the Keepmoat Stadium prior to England's departure for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/7642490.stm|title=Gleeson to lead new-look England|publisher=BBC|date=2008-10-09|accessdate=2008-10-10]

Bradford Bulls

In 2005 Adrian Morley became the first Englishmen to complete the 'rugby league trifecta', winning Premierships in both the National Rugby League, Super League and also winning the Challenge Cup.

In late 2005, although still contracted to the Roosters; Morley joined the Bradford Bulls at the backend of the season and helped them to claim the Super League championship against his old team the Leeds Rhinos.

Warrington Wolves

Morley returned to the engage Super League after signing a 4 year deal with the Warrington Wolves.

He made his Warrington Wolves debut against Wigan Warriors on 9 February 2007 but lasted only 37 Minutes after an accidental clash of heads with Wigan Warriors' Eamon O'Carroll which resulted in Morley having surgery on a fractured eye socket.

5 rounds later Morley made his home debut and comeback versus Hull Kingston Rovers. But another freak clash of heads resulted in Morley leaving the field after only 16 Minutes with a displaced fracture of the left cheekbone. Morley has had surgery to fix the problem and is expected to return for the game against Bradford Bulls on Sunday 29 April 2007

He now captains the Warrington wolves side and is regarded among fans as the club's best signing for many years. With his big hits and powerful runs, making 2857 meters in 22 appearances so far in the 2008 season.

References

External links

* [http://www.warringtonwolves.org/PlayerDisplay.ink?skip=15&season=2007&Playertype=s Wolves profile]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport/hi/english/static/in_depth/rugby_league/2001/ashes/gb/morley.stm 2001 Ashes profile]
* [http://www.elitesports.com.au/new/showarticle.php?articleID=41 Article - Morley set for footy grand slam]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/6737633.stm Morley to captain Great Britain]
* [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/03/06/1078464696787.html Ryles can overcome injury, and I should know: Morley]
* [http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/s/20/20966_rl_morley_hoping_for_seventh_heaven.html "Morley hoping for Seventh Heaven" - article at manchestereveningnews.co.uk]