Lee Crooks (rugby league)
| Personal information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 18 September 1963 | |||||
| Playing information | ||||||
| Height | 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) | |||||
| Weight | 100.7 kg (15 st 12 lb) | |||||
| Position | Prop, Second-row | |||||
| Club | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 1980–87 | Hull | 220 | 44 | 400 | 0 | 947 |
| 1985–86 | Wests (Sydney) | 29 | 3 | 36 | 1 | 85 |
| 1987 | Balmain Tigers | 11 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| 1987–90 | Leeds | |||||
| 1990–97 | Castleford | 222 | 18 | 596 | 1 | 1265 |
| Total | 482 | 65 | 1039 | 2 | 2311 | |
| Representative | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| Yorkshire | ||||||
| 1992 | England | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 12 |
| 1982–94 | Great Britain | 19 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 35 |
| Coaching information | ||||||
| Club | ||||||
| Years | Team | Gms | W | D | L | W% |
| 1998–99 | Keighley Cougars | |||||
| York City Knights | ||||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Representative | ||||||
| Years | Team | Gms | W | D | L | W% |
| Serbia | ||||||
| Source: rugbyleagueproject.org englandrl.co.uk | ||||||
Lee Crooks (born 18 September 1963) is an English professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and '90s, and current coach, playing at representative level for Great Britain, England, and Yorkshire, and at club level for Hull, Western Suburbs Magpies, Balmain Tigers, Leeds, and Castleford, as a Prop, or Second-row, i.e. number 8 or 10, or, 11 or 12, captain of Hull during the 1985–86, and 1986–87 seasons,[1] and coaching at representative level for Serbia, and at club level for Keighley Cougars, and York City Knights. Lee is the father of current Hull centre Ben Crooks. [2]
Playing career
Club career
Hull
Crooks started his career at Hull, making his debut at the age of 17 in 1980, and went on to make 220 appearances for the club.[3] He also played in three Challenge Cup finals with the club, including Hull's 14-14 draw with Widnes in the 1982 Challenge Cup final during the 1981–82 season at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 1 May 1982 (and the 18-9 victory over Widnes in the replay at Elland Road, Leeds on Wednesday 19 May 1982), the 14-12 defeat by Featherstone Rovers in the 1983 Challenge Cup final during the 1982–83 season at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 7 May 1983, and was captain in Hull's 24-28 defeat by Wigan in the 1985 Challenge Cup final during the 1984–85 season at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 4 May 1985.
Leeds
In June 1987, Crooks was sold to Leeds for a world record transfer fee of £150,000.
Castleford
Crooks played in Castleford's 12-28 defeat by Wigan in the 1992 Challenge Cup final during the 1991–92 season at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 2 May 1992.[4]
He also played in Castleford's 33-2 victory over Wigan in the 1993–94 Regal Trophy final at Headingley Stadium, Leeds on Saturday 22 January 1994.[5]
Representative honours
Crooks became the youngest ever Great Britain Test forward when he made his début aged 19 on Saturday 30 October 1982. He was selected to go on the 1988 Great Britain Lions tour.
Lee Crooks won a cap for England while at Castleford in 1992 against Wales,[6] and won caps for Great Britain while at Hull in 1982 against Australia (2 matches), in 1984 against France (sub), and Australia (2 matches), in 1985 against New Zealand, and New Zealand (sub), in 1986 against France (2 matches), and Australia (3 matches), in 1987 against France, while at Leeds in 1989 against France, while at Castleford in 1992 against France (2 matches), Papua New Guinea, and he was selected to go on the 1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand. He also played in 1994 against France.[7]
Crooks also won a cap playing Left-Prop, i.e. number 8 for Yorkshire while at Castleford, scoring 2-conversions in the 17-12 victory over Lancashire at Leeds' stadium on 18 September 1991.[8]
Honoured at Western Suburbs Magpies
Lee Crooks was named in the Magpies Team of the Eighties.[9]
Coaching career
He coached Serbia in their 2013 Rugby League World Cup qualifying campaign. In February 2014] Crooks joined the Rugby Football League (RFL) once again this time in the role of England Regional Performance Coach for the North East. He will oversee the coaching at the RFL's North East Academy, as well as helping to develop community clubs in the region where he intends to build on the great work that was done by his predecessor Andy Kelly.
References
- ↑ "Coaches and Captains". hullfc.com. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ↑ "Statistics at hullfc.com". hullfc.com. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ↑ http://www1.skysports.com/rugby-league/news/12196/4949786/crooks-in-hull-return
- ↑ "Sat 2nd May 1992 - Challenge Cup - Neutral Ground - 77,386". thecastlefordtigers. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ↑ "Wigan 2 - 33 Castleford". thecastlefordtigers.co.uk. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ↑ "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ↑ "Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ↑ "Statistics at thecastlefordtigers.co.uk". thecastlefordtigers.co.uk ℅ web.archive.org. 31 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
- ↑ "VEST, KEATO, COGGER ALL HONOURED". weststigers.com.au. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
External links
- England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk
- Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk
- Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org
- Profile at thecastlefordtigers.co.uk
- Stats → PastPlayers → C at hullfc.com
- Statistics at hullfc.com
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Andy Gregory |
Rugby League Transfer Record Hull to Leeds 1987 |
Succeeded by Garry Schofield |
| ||||||