Paul Sykes (rugby league)
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Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Paul Sykes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 14 st 6 lb (92 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre, Stand-off, Fullback | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of April 28th, 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Paul Sykes (born 11 August 1981 in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire) is an English professional rugby league footballer for the Bradford Bulls of Europe's Super League competition.
Sykes' position of choice is at right centre. He has for most of his career operated at full-back. He has also played some games in the stand-off role.
Bradford
Paul Sykes is a product of Bradford Bulls academy, making his breakthrough in 1999 in Super League IV. However opportunities at Odsal 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.
Move to London
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.
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.
Paul 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 Paul 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 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 seasons end and in recognition of these achievements Paul was voted Supporters Player of the Year for 2005. Harlequins centre Paul Sykes has confirmed his expected move to Bradford for next season on a two-year contract.
Paul Sykes, who made his Great Britain début earlier this season, left the Bulls on loan in 2002 to find first-team rugby.
Quins coach Brian McDermott also paid tribute to Sykes's contribution at The Stoop.
Bradford Bulls
Paul Sykes signed for Bradford Bulls in September 2007 as a replacement for the departing Ben Harris.
On rejoining the Bulls 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. Bulls 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,".
Great Britain
In June 2007 Sykes was called up to the Great Britain squad[1][2] and will play in the centres in the Test match against France.[3]
Sykes is joined in the Great Britain Test side by Quins teammate Chris Melling.[4]
Paul Sykes made his Great Britain début in the 42-14 victory over the French on 22 June 2007, scoring one try.[5][6]
England
In September 2008 he was named in the England training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup,[7] and in October 2008 he was named in the final 24-man England squad.[8]
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.[9]
Sykes has also represented the England in their warm up match against Wales before the 2009 Four Nations.
Statistics
Club career
| Year | Club | Apps | Pts | T | G | FG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 |  Bradford Bulls |
4 | - | - | - | - |
| 2000 | Bradford Bulls |
2 | 8 | 2 | - | - |
| 2001 | Bradford Bulls |
1 | - | - | - | - |
| 2001 | London Broncos | 9 | 51 | 1 | 23 | 1 |
| 2002 | Bradford Bulls |
3 | 6 | - | 3 | - |
| 2002 London Broncos | 16 | 36 | 2 | 14 | - | |
| 2003 London Broncos | 17 | 26 | 6 | 1 | - | |
| 2004 London Broncos | 25 | 146 | 5 | 63 | - | |
| 2005 London Broncos | 29 | 284 | 11 | 119 | 2 | |
| 2006 |  Harlequins RL |
8 | 24 | 2 | 8 | - |
| 2007 | Harlequins RL |
25 | 129 | 13 | 38 | 1 |
| 2008 | Bradford Bulls |
12 | 28 | 7 | - | - |
Representative career
| Year | Team | Matches | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 |  England 'A' |
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2003 | England 'A' |
2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2007 |  Great Britain |
1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
References
- ^ "Eight new faces in Lions squad". BBC. 2007-06-12. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
- ^ "Melling and Sykes named in GB squad". Quins RL. 2007-06-13. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
- ^ "New-look GB select five new caps". BBC. 2007-06-20. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
- ^ "Melling and Sykes to play at Headingley". Quins. 2007-06-20. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
- ^ "Great Britain 42-14 France". BBC. 2007-06-22. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
- ^ "Hungry Lions Please Smith". SportingLife. 2007-06-22. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
- ^ "Myler gets England call". England Rugby League. 2008-09-29. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
- ^ "Purdham earns World Cup call-up". BBC. 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ "Gleeson to lead new-look England". BBC. 2008-10-09. Retrieved 2008-10-10.