Paul Handforth (born 6 October 1981), also known by the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

of "Tiger", is a professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who most recently played for

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of Bi ...

in the Championship 1.

Background

Paul Handforth was born in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England, he is the son of the

footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s for

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the c ...

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...

and

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

; Tony "Tiger" Handforth.

Playing career

Handforth's position of choice is at , but he can also operate at and as a . He has previously played for Halifax, the Batley Bulldogs,

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

, the

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the c ...

, and the

Castleford Tigers The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England, that compete in the Super League, the top-level professional rugby league club competition in the Northern Hemisphere. The club have competed i ...

in the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

. He started playing rugby with the Methley Monarchs ARLFC as a schoolboy and also played for the

Oulton Raiders Oulton Raiders are an amateur rugby league football club from Oulton in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club's open age team currently compete in the top division of the National Conference League The National Conference League (known as the King ...

. Handforth is an

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

international. He was named in the Ireland training squad for the

2008 Rugby League World Cup The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since its inauguration in 1954, and the first since the 2000 tournament. The tournament was held in Australia from 26 October, culminating in the final b ...

. After leaving Keighley and retiring from the professional game, Handforth joined amateur team Fryston Warriors, and played for them against Keighley in the

2017 Challenge Cup The 2017 Challenge Cup, (also known as the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 116th staging of the Challenge Cup the main rugby league knockout tournament for teams in the Super League, the British National Leagues and a nu ...

third round tie between the two clubs.

References

External links

*(archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at thecastlefordtigers.co.uk
1981 births Living people Batley Bulldogs players Castleford Tigers players Doncaster R.L.F.C. players English people of Irish descent Featherstone Rovers players Halifax R.L.F.C. players Ireland national rugby league team players Irish rugby league players Keighley Cougars players Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league players from Wakefield Wakefield Trinity players {{Ireland-rugbyleague-bio-stub