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Michael Cooper (rugby league)

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Mike Cooper
Personal information
Full nameMichael Joseph Cooper[1]
Born (1988-09-15) 15 September 1988 (age 36)
Warrington, Cheshire, England
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight17 st 0 lb (108 kg)[2][3]
Playing information
PositionProp, Loose forward
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2006–13 Warrington Wolves 130 9 0 0 36
2010(loan) → Castleford Tigers 6 2 0 0 8
2014–16 St. George Illawarra 69 3 0 0 12
2017–22 Warrington Wolves 142 13 0 0 56
2022–24 Wigan Warriors 19 1 0 0 4
Total 366 28 0 0 116
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2011–12 England Knights 4 0 0 0 0
2015–22 England 13 0 0 0 0
Source: [4][5]
As of 5 November 2022

Michael Cooper (born 15 September 1988) is a retired English professional rugby league footballer.

He previously played for the Warrington Wolves in two separate spells in the Super League, and spent time away from Warrington at the Castleford Tigers in the Super League. Cooper has also played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL.

Background

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Cooper was born in Warrington, Cheshire, England.

Club career

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Early career

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Born in Warrington, Cooper began his career with Warrington when he was a part of an under-11s side who went through a whole season undefeated, winning the championship along the way.[citation needed] He continued through the junior ranks and eventually become part of the first team.

Warrington Wolves

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Cooper playing for the Warrington Wolves in 2010

He played in the 2012 Super League Grand Final defeat by Leeds at Old Trafford.[6][7]

Cooper played in the 2013 Super League Grand Final defeat by Wigan at Old Trafford.[8][9][10][11][12]

Castleford Tigers (loan)

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Cooper had a loan period at Castleford in 2010. While at Castleford he got some regular first team action, due to Castleford's injury situation.[citation needed]

St. George Illawarra Dragons

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St. George Illawarra signed Cooper on a two-year deal. The St. George club agreed to a release fee with Warrington to sign the then 24-year-old, who had been under contract to the wire through until the end of the 2014 season.

The St. George Illawarra prop missed only one match during his début season in the NRL. Cooper played 14 games off the bench as an interchange prop and nine games starting on the run-on side. Cooper scored one try which came against the New Zealand Warriors in round 7, and in the same game made his only line-break. Cooper ended the season with an average of 44.2 minutes played per game. He also made 237 runs, and 2,058 metres. He has the best tackles to missed tackles ratio, with an average of 28.1 tackles a game, with only 0.9 missed.[citation needed]

Warrington Wolves

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In June 2016, it was announced that Cooper would be returning to Warrington on a three-year deal for the start of the 2017 campaign.[citation needed]

Cooper playing for the Warrington Wolves in 2019

Cooper played in the 2018 Challenge Cup Final defeat by the Catalans Dragons at Wembley Stadium.[13] Cooper played in the 2018 Super League Grand Final defeat by Wigan at Old Trafford.[14]

Cooper played in the 2019 Challenge Cup Final victory over St Helens at Wembley Stadium.[15]

Wigan Warriors

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Cooper joined Wigan in July 2022, with his departure from Warrington happening earlier than expected early after the initial deal was due to take place at end of the 2022 season.[16] On 13 September 2023, Cooper signed a one-year contract extension to remain at Wigan until the end of 2024.[17] On 24 February 2024, Cooper played in Wigan's 2024 World Club Challenge final victory over Penrith.[18] On 8 June 2024, Cooper played in Wigan's 2024 Challenge Cup final victory over Warrington.[19]

On 27 September 2024, Cooper announced that he was to retire from rugby league with immediate effect, following medical advice related to a concussion injury he suffered during a match against the Leigh Leopards on 5 July.[20]

International career

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Cooper played for the England Knights in 2011 and 2012.

Cooper was selected in England's 24-man squad for the 2014 Four Nations.[21]

After being selected in England's 2014 Four Nations squad, but not featuring in a match, McNamara selected him again for the 2015 end-of-year test series against New Zealand. In a test match beforehand, Cooper made his début for England in England's win over France.[22]

In October 2016, Cooper was selected in England's 24-man squad for the 2016 Four Nations. Before the tournament began, he featured in England's test match against France.

In October he was named in the England squad for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.[23]

Honours

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Warrington Wolves

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Wigan Warriors

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References

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  1. ^ FreeBMD Entry Information
  2. ^ "The official Engage Super League web site". web page. Super League. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  3. ^ "Profile at dragons.com.au". dragons.com.au. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Player Summary: Michael Cooper". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  5. ^ "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  6. ^ "Grand Final: Warrington 18-26 Leeds". BBC Sport. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  7. ^ "Leeds' Kevin Sinfield stars in Grand Final triumph against Warrington". Guardian. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  8. ^ "Super League Grand Final". Super League. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  9. ^ Newsum, Matt (5 October 2013). "Super League Grand Final: Wigan Warriors beat Warrington". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  10. ^ "Super League Grand Final: Warrington v Wigan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  11. ^ "Warrington Wolves 16 Wigan Warriors 30". Daily Telegraph. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  12. ^ "Wigan see off Warrington in X-rated Grand Final to complete double". Guardian. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  13. ^ "Catalans Dragons beat Warrington in Challenge Cup final to make history". Guardian. 25 August 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  14. ^ "Super League Grand Final 2018: Wigan 12-4 Warrington – as it happened". Guardian. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  15. ^ "St Helens 4-18 Warrington RESULT: Challenge Cup Final as it happened from Wembley". Mirror. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  16. ^ Mike Cooper: Wigan Warriors sign Warrington Wolves prop early after initial deal to move at end of season
  17. ^ "Wigan Warriors hand new deal to Mike Cooper". www.totalrl.com. 13 September 2023.
  18. ^ "World Club Challenge: Wigan Warriors 16-12 Penrith Panthers - Cherry and Whites crowned world champions for fifth time". www.bbc.co.uk.
  19. ^ "Wigan beat Warrington to win Challenge Cup". www.bbc.co.uk.
  20. ^ "Wigan prop Cooper retires on medical advice". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  21. ^ O’LOUGHLIN NAMED ENGLAND’S NEW CAPTAIN FOR THE FOUR NATIONS
  22. ^ "England demolish France 84-4 in record win". Sky Sports. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  23. ^ Full list of every squad at the Rugby League World Cup 2021
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