Andrew Ackers (born 25 December 1993) is an English professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who plays as a for the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home games at Headingley Rugby Stadium, AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby lea ...

in the

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

and represents

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at the international level. He has previously played for the

Swinton Lions The Swinton Lions are a professional rugby league club based in Swinton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the RFL League 1 . The club has won the Rugby Football League Championship, Championship six times and three Challenge Cups ...

in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

and Championship 1, the

London Broncos The London Broncos are a professional rugby league club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, England. They play their home games at Plough Lane and currently compete in the RFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of British rugby le ...

in the Championship, and the

Toronto Wolfpack Toronto Wolfpack RLFC is a Canadian professional rugby league club based in Toronto, Ontario. The club is the first and only professional rugby league club in North America, and as of 2023 competes in the self sponsored Canada Cup, an invitation ...

in the

and the

Background

Ackers was born in Golborne, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. He started playing rugby league at the age of 12 for Golborne Parkside before signing for Hindley.

Playing career

Early career

Ackers was recruited into the Wigan Warriors Academy at the age of 18. He played for the under-18s during the 2012 season but was released without making a single first-team appearance. Ackers then signed with Warrington Wolves, Warrington after a successful trial and captained their under-19s team in 2013. In the 2014 season, Ackers joined Championship (rugby league), Championship side

on loan before signing a permanent deal with the club a year later. Over a two-year period, he scored 26 tries in 56 games.

London Broncos

Ackers became a full time professional as a 23-year-old at the

signing for the 2016 and 2017. It was announced on 9 May 2016, that Ackers extended his contract to the end of the 2018 season. The

finished 2nd in both 2016 and 2017, thus he played in the Qualifiers Super 8's for a place in Super League. Ackers last game for London was an away game against Widnes Vikings in the Qualifiers on 16 September 2017. Shortly after, he left the club after the Broncos accepted his request to be released for family reasons.

Toronto Wolfpack

Ackers signed for Canada, Canadian-based club

a few days after his release. The move was criticised by London Broncos, as Ackers had initially requested his release in order to spend more time with his family in the north of England. In both seasons in the Championship his team made the finals stages. His first season saw his club beaten by 4 points at 2 in the Million Pound Game with Ackers sinbinned in the final for a high tackle. Andy Ackers Toronto

His second season saw his club beat part-time Featherstone to be promoted. His third season saw Toronto lose all their Super League games and become hot favourites for relegation. Ackers suddenly left in June 2020; a few weeks before the events at Toronto that would see them ultimately liquidated.

Salford

On 4 June 2020, Ackers left Toronto Wolfpack, Toronto and signed a contract with Salford Red Devils, Salford that would run until 2022. Following an impressive start to the 2022 season it was announced Ackers had signed one-year contract extension with Salford Red Devils which would keep him at the AJ Bell Stadium until the end of the 2023 season. In the 2023 Super League season, Ackers played 20 matches for Salford as the club finished 7th on the table and missed the playoffs.

Leeds

On 18 October 2023, Ackers signed a three-year deal to join Leeds Rhinos, Leeds ahead of the 2024 Super League season. In round 1 of the 2024 Super League season, Ackers made his club debut for Leeds against his former team Salford. Leeds would win the match 22-16. Ackers played 24 games for Leeds in the 2024 Super League which saw the club finish 8th on the table.

England

Following an outstanding season with Salford Red Devils, Salford, Ackers was announced as part of Shaun Wane's England World Cup squad on 30 September 2022. In the third group stage match at the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, Ackers scored two tries for England in a 94–4 victory over minnows Greece.

References

External links

Salford Red Devils profileSL profileToronto Wolfpack profileBroncos profileEngland profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ackers, Andy 1993 births Living people England national rugby league team players English expatriate rugby league players English expatriate sportspeople in Canada English rugby league players Expatriate rugby league players in Canada Leeds Rhinos players London Broncos players People from Golborne Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Wigan Salford Red Devils players Swinton Lions players Toronto Wolfpack players 21st-century English sportsmen