Simon Finnigan (born 8 December 1981)[4] is a rugby league coach and former player who was most recently the head coach of the Widnes Vikings in the Championship and was previously head coach at Newcastle Thunder and an assistant coach at the Toronto Wolfpack. An Ireland international second-row, he played in the Super League for the Widnes Vikings, Salford City Reds, Bradford Bulls and the Huddersfield Giants, and in the Championship for the Leigh Centurions.
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Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 8 December 1981 Warrington, Cheshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 14 st 13 lb (95 kg)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Loose forward, Second-row | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Coaching information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 28 April 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
editSimon Finnigan was born in Warrington, Cheshire, England, he grew up in Australia, playing for the Penrith Panthers junior teams before joining Widnes Vikings in 2003.
Club career
editFinnigan played three season in Super League for Widnes Vikings, before leaving following the club's relegation at the end of the 2005 Super League season. He subsequently joined Salford City Reds, where he played for two seasons before again leaving when the club was relegated at the end of the 2007 Super League season. He signed for Bradford Bulls in September 2007 and stayed for one year before joining Huddersfield Giants in 2009. He rejoined Widnes Vikings in 2011, before finishing his career with Leigh Centurions in 2013. He announced his retirement from the sport in January 2014.[citation needed]
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Representative
editHe was named in the Ireland training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup,[5] and the Ireland squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.[6]
He was again named in the Ireland squad for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, and made two appearances in the tournament, his final rugby league match being Ireland's defeat against Australia.[citation needed]
Statistics
editClub career (Super League)
edit| Year | Club | Apps | Pts | T | G | FG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Widnes Vikings | 19 | 4 | 1 | - | - |
| 2004 | Widnes Vikings | 25 | 32 | 8 | – | - |
| 2005 | Widnes Vikings | 26 | 48 | 12 | – | - |
| 2006 | Salford City Reds | 25 | 48 | 12 | - | - |
| 2007 | Salford City Reds | 25 | 20 | 5 | - | - |
| 2008 | Bradford Bulls | 26 | 28 | 7 | - | - |
| 2009 | Huddersfield Giants | 20 | 20 | 5 | - | - |
| 2010 | Huddersfield Giants | 7 | 4 | 1 | - | - |
| 2012 | Widnes Vikings | 10 | 0 | 0 | - | - |
Representative career
edit| Year | Team | Matches | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–13 | Ireland | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Coaching career
editAfter retiring as a player, Finnigan moved into coaching become assistant coach at the Toronto Wolfpack. In 2019 he became head coach of Newcastle Thunder then in League 1, the third tier of rugby league in the United Kingdom.[7]
Finnigan was appointed the head coach of the Widnes Vikings in the Championship (the second tier) in November 2020 but left the club in April 2022 by "mutual consent".[8]
References
edit- ^ "Altius Directory Rugby League World Cup 2008 Ireland Team". web page. Altius Directory. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
- ^ loverugbyleague
- ^ RLP
- ^ "Huddersfield lose Simon Finnigan for Super League play-offs". Guardian. 10 September 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ "Ireland Name World Cup 40 Man Training Squad". Rugby League Ireland. 1 August 2008. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
- ^ "Cassidy included in Ireland squad". BBC. 7 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
- ^ Heppenstall, Ross (21 February 2022). "Widnes Vikings remain grounded as fans dare to dream of Super League return". YorkshireLive. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
- ^ "Widnes Vikings part company with head coach Simon Finnigan". Rugby League News. 26 April 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
External links
edit- Toronto Wolfpack profile
- Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org
- (archived by web.archive.org) Bradford Bulls profile
- (archived by web.archive.org) Ireland profile