Paul Medley (born 21 September 1966) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, and at club level for Leeds, Halifax, Bradford Northern/Bradford Bulls and Dewsbury Rams, as a prop, second-row, or loose forward.[1]
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Paul Richard Medley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 21 September 1966 Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Prop, Second-row, Loose forward | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Playing career
editLeeds
editMedley signed for Leeds from the club's Colts team in 1984. He made his first team debut in January 1985 against Workington Town.[3]
Medley played at second-row in Leeds' 14–15 defeat by St. Helens in the 1987–88 John Player Special Trophy Final during the 1987–88 season at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 9 January 1988.
Medley appeared as a substitute (replacing second-row Mark Brooke-Cowden) and scored a try in Leeds' 33–12 victory over Castleford in the 1988 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1988–89 season at Elland Road, Leeds on Sunday 16 October 1988.
In January 1989, Medley was sold to Halifax as part of a exchange deal for Paul Dixon.[4]
Bradford
editFollowing Halifax's relegation from the First Division at the end of the 1988–89 season, Medley was signed by Bradford Northern for a club record fee of £110,000.[5]
Medley appeared as a substitute (replacing prop Jon Hamer) in Bradford Northern's 20–14 victory over Featherstone Rovers in the 1989 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1989–90 season at Headingley, Leeds on Sunday 5 November 1989.
Medley played second-row in Bradford Northern's 2–12 defeat by Warrington in the 1990–91 Regal Trophy Final during the 1990–91 season at Headingley, Leeds on Saturday 12 January 1991.
Medley played second-row in 8–15 defeat by Wigan in the 1992–93 Regal Trophy Final during the 1992–93 season at Elland Road, Leeds on Saturday 23 January 1993.[6]
He appeared for Bradford Bulls from the bench in their 1996 Challenge Cup Final defeat by St Helens.[7]
He played 385 games and scored 149 tries in a career that lasted 15 years. He was one of the key players of the Bradford Bulls for 10 years.
Medley played one final season with Dewsbury Rams, helping them reach the 1999 Northern Ford Premiership Grand Final before announcing his retirement.[8]
Representative career
editMedley was selected for the 1988 Great Britain Lions tour.[1]
Post-playing career
editAfter retiring as a player, Medley returned to Bradford Bulls, and worked in a number of different roles at the club, including player performance manager and being head of the club's youth academy. He left the club in 2014 to become the national player development manager for the Rugby Football League.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ "Player Summary: Paul Medley". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
- ^ "1988 Elland Road memories return". Leeds Rhinos. 13 March 2018. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
- ^ "Dixon for Leeds in £140,000 deal". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 5 January 1989. p. 20 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Medley moves". Hull Daily Mail. 8 August 1989. p. 31 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "23rd January 1993: Bradford 8 Wigan 15 (Regal Trophy Final)". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2014. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ "steveprescottfoundation.co.uk". Steve Prescott Stats. Steve Prescott Foundation. Archived from the original on 8 August 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ "Medley calls it a day after a 15-year career". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. 2 November 1999. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
- ^ "Paul Medley to leave Bradford Bulls for RFL player development role". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. 27 March 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
External links
edit- (archived by web.archive.org) Bull Masters - Paul Medley
- (archived by web.archive.org) Paul Medley Profile
- (archived by web.archive.org) Pongia dismissed as Kiwis fall to Bradford
