Gareth Ellis
Encyclopedia
Gareth Ellis is an English professional rugby league
footballer for the Wests Tigers
in the National Rugby League
(NRL). He has represented at international level for Great Britain
and England
and primarily plays in the back row. Ellis previously played in the European Super League
competition for Leeds Rhinos
(with whom he won the 2007 and 2008 Championships) and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
.
win over Canterbury Bulldogs
. In the same year, Ellis also received Challenge Cup and Super League grand final runners up medals.
Ellis was named in the Super League Dream Team
for the 2008
season.
He played in the 2008 Super League Grand Final victory over St Helens.
in the final test of the 2003 Ashes series. He has been capped 17 times for Great Britain and in 2007 was named in the International Team of the Year having started in 11 consecutive Tests for the Lions
.
He was named in the England squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup
.
He was selected to play for England against France in the one-off test in 2010.
club, Wests Tigers
, for a three-year deal commencing in 2009.
Great Britain
forward Gareth Ellis cited a lifestyle change and the desire to test himself on the biggest stage for his reasons to quit Super League
champions Leeds Rhinos
at the end of the new season. Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens
has praised new signing Gareth Ellis on making a decision based purely on a challenge rather than money.
He joined the list of British players who have played for the Wests Tigers joint venture through Balmain Tigers
and Western Suburbs Magpies
- Andy Currier
, Ellery Hanley
, Lee Crooks
, Garry Schofield
and Harvey Howard
.
He scored his first try in the NRL off a toe poke from Robbie Farah.
Gareth Ellis became the first Great Britain forward to switch to the NRL since former Sydney Roosters
hitman Adrian Morley
spent six successful seasons in Australia.
During his second season with the Wests Tigers, Ellis signed an extension until the end of 2013. Coach Tim Sheens
said, "In my time here, dollar-for-dollar, he's been the best buy this club has had."
's (RLIF) Team of the Year, tying for the position with Anthony Laffranchi
. In 2009 he was placed in the side again.
Ellis was named the Wests Tigers Player of the Year for 2009 and also won the Members Player of the Year. He was nominated for the Golden Boot
for his efforts throughout the season. In 2010, he was again named the Tigers Player of the Year.
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
footballer for the Wests Tigers
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's mid-western suburbs. They have competed in the National Rugby League since they were formed at the end of the 1999 season as a joint-venture club between the Balmain Tigers and the Western Suburbs...
in the National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
(NRL). He has represented at international level for Great Britain
Great Britain national rugby league team
The Great Britain national rugby league team represents the United Kingdom in rugby league football. Administered by the Rugby Football League , the team is nicknamed "The Lions" or "Great Britain Lions"....
and England
England national rugby league team
The England national rugby league team represent England in international rugby league football tournaments. The team has now seen a revival, having largely formed from the Great Britain team, who also represented Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The team is run under the auspices of the Rugby Football...
and primarily plays in the back row. Ellis previously played in the European Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
competition for Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
(with whom he won the 2007 and 2008 Championships) and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats are a professional rugby league club that plays in the European Super League and is based in Wakefield. They achieved promotion in 1999 and have remained in the League since. They are known to their fans as Wakey, Trinity, Wildcats, or historically The Dreadnoughts...
.
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Ellis was a junior at Castleford Lock Lane prior to signing for Wakefield's Academy side in 1999, making his first team debut later that year. He broke into the Wildcats team in 2000. He made over 100 appearances for Wakefield and became the club's first player to represent Great Britain for 12 years in 2003.Leeds Rhinos
The second row joined the Rhinos from Wakefield in 2005, making his début in the World Club ChallengeWorld Club Challenge
The World Club Challenge is an annual rugby league football match held between the champions of the Australasian National Rugby League and the European Super League competitions to determine the world's best rugby league club...
win over Canterbury Bulldogs
Canterbury Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, as well as New South Wales Rugby League junior competitions...
. In the same year, Ellis also received Challenge Cup and Super League grand final runners up medals.
Ellis was named in the Super League Dream Team
Super League Dream Team
The Super League Dream Team is an award given each season to the players deemed to have been the best in their position in the Super League by a panel of journalists and broadcasters....
for the 2008
Super League XIII
Engage Super League XIII was the official name, due to sponsorship, for the 2008 Super League season by Engage Mutual. Twelve teams competed for the Minor Premiership over 27 rounds after which, the top 6 finishing teams entered the play-offs where they competed for a place in the Grand Final and...
season.
He played in the 2008 Super League Grand Final victory over St Helens.
Representative Football
Ellis first played for the Great Britain teamGreat Britain national rugby league team
The Great Britain national rugby league team represents the United Kingdom in rugby league football. Administered by the Rugby Football League , the team is nicknamed "The Lions" or "Great Britain Lions"....
in the final test of the 2003 Ashes series. He has been capped 17 times for Great Britain and in 2007 was named in the International Team of the Year having started in 11 consecutive Tests for the Lions
Great Britain national rugby league team
The Great Britain national rugby league team represents the United Kingdom in rugby league football. Administered by the Rugby Football League , the team is nicknamed "The Lions" or "Great Britain Lions"....
.
He was named in the England squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup
2008 Rugby League World Cup
The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since the inauguration of the tournament in 1954, and the first since the 2000 event...
.
He was selected to play for England against France in the one-off test in 2010.
Wests Tigers
In February 2008, Ellis agreed to a contract with Australian National Rugby LeagueNational Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
club, Wests Tigers
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's mid-western suburbs. They have competed in the National Rugby League since they were formed at the end of the 1999 season as a joint-venture club between the Balmain Tigers and the Western Suburbs...
, for a three-year deal commencing in 2009.
Great Britain
Great Britain national rugby league team
The Great Britain national rugby league team represents the United Kingdom in rugby league football. Administered by the Rugby Football League , the team is nicknamed "The Lions" or "Great Britain Lions"....
forward Gareth Ellis cited a lifestyle change and the desire to test himself on the biggest stage for his reasons to quit Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
champions Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
at the end of the new season. Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens
Tim Sheens
Tim Sheens is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. He currently coaches the Wests Tigers of the National Rugby League and in 2009 was appointed coach of the Australian national team, the Kangaroos...
has praised new signing Gareth Ellis on making a decision based purely on a challenge rather than money.
He joined the list of British players who have played for the Wests Tigers joint venture through Balmain Tigers
Balmain Tigers
The Balmain Tigers are a rugby league football club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in the history of the premiership, with eleven titles...
and Western Suburbs Magpies
Western Suburbs Magpies
The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia...
- Andy Currier
Andy Currier
Andy S. Currier is a British former rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s. A rangy centre, he achieved representative selection for Great Britain Lions and played most of his club football with Widnes as well as stints with Featherstone Rovers, Warrington Wolves and Australian team the...
, Ellery Hanley
Ellery Hanley
Ellery Cuthwyn Hanley MBE is a British former rugby league footballer of the 1970s, 80s and 90s, and former head coach of Great Britain, St. Helens and Doncaster. As a player he played most of his games at /, or /. Over a period of nineteen years, he played for Bradford Northern, Wigan, Balmain,...
, Lee Crooks
Lee Crooks (rugby league)
Lee Crooks is an English former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and '90s, and coach of the 1990s and 2000s who at representative level has played for Great Britain, England, and Yorkshire, and at club level for Hull, Western Suburbs Magpies, Balmain Tigers, Leeds, and Castleford,...
, Garry Schofield
Garry Schofield
Garry E. Schofield OBE is an English retired professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 1990s. At the time of his retirement he was the most-capped Great Britain player of all time along with Mick Sullivan, with 46 appearances. He also won three England caps, making him the highest...
and Harvey Howard
Harvey Howard
Harvey Howard is an English former professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. A Great Britain, and England international representative , he played club football in England for Widnes, Leeds, Bradford and Wigan, and in Australia for the Eastern Suburbs Roosters, Western Suburbs...
.
He scored his first try in the NRL off a toe poke from Robbie Farah.
Gareth Ellis became the first Great Britain forward to switch to the NRL since former Sydney Roosters
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
hitman Adrian Morley
Adrian Morley
Adrian Morley is an English professional rugby league footballer for the Warrington Wolves of Europe's Super League...
spent six successful seasons in Australia.
During his second season with the Wests Tigers, Ellis signed an extension until the end of 2013. Coach Tim Sheens
Tim Sheens
Tim Sheens is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. He currently coaches the Wests Tigers of the National Rugby League and in 2009 was appointed coach of the Australian national team, the Kangaroos...
said, "In my time here, dollar-for-dollar, he's been the best buy this club has had."
Accolades and awards
In November 2008, Ellis was named at second-row in the inaugural Rugby League International FederationRugby League International Federation
The Rugby League International Federation is the world governing body of rugby league football. It was formed in 1998 in Sydney, Australia. Its purpose is to, "foster, develop, extend, govern and administer the game of Rugby League throughout the world". Its headquarters are in Sydney, Australia,...
's (RLIF) Team of the Year, tying for the position with Anthony Laffranchi
Anthony Laffranchi
Anthony Laffranchi is an Australian professional rugby league player for St Helens RLFC in the European Super League. He primarily plays in the second-row. He previously played for the Wests Tigers...
. In 2009 he was placed in the side again.
Ellis was named the Wests Tigers Player of the Year for 2009 and also won the Members Player of the Year. He was nominated for the Golden Boot
Golden Boot
A Golden Boot or Golden Shoe is an award, most often in football sports, given to the individual player who scores the most goals in a league or a tournament.These terms may also refer to:In association football...
for his efforts throughout the season. In 2010, he was again named the Tigers Player of the Year.