Gil Dudson (born 16 June 1990) is a Welsh 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

Oldham RLFC Oldham Rugby League Football Club, is a professional rugby league football club based in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. The club plays home games at Boundary Park and competes in Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. O ...

in the

RFL Championship The Rugby Football League Championship, (known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second highest division of rugby league in British rugby league system, Britain (with one team in the league also being based in France) ...

and at international level. He played for Crusaders RL 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 on loan from

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

at the South Wales Scorpions in Championship 1. Dudson has also played for the

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors is an English professional rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club competes in the Super League, the top tier of the British rugby league system. Formed in 1872, the club is a founding member of the Ru ...

Widnes Vikings The Widnes Vikings are an English rugby league club in Widnes, Cheshire, which competes in the RFL Championship, Betfred Championship. The club plays home matches at DCBL Stadium. Founded as Widnes Football Club, they are one of the original twe ...

Salford Red Devils The Salford Red Devils are a professional rugby league club in Salford, England. They play home games at Salford Community Stadium in Barton upon Irwell and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugb ...

and the

Catalans Dragons The Catalans Dragons (French language, French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan language, Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. Despite being based in France the ...

in the top flight.

Background

Dudson was born in Trowbridge, Cardiff, Wales.

Club career

Celtic Crusaders

Dudson began his career at Celtic Crusaders, where he progressed through the youth ranks. He made his Super League début in the 2009 season in a fixture against

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. Dudson spent 2010 on loan at South Wales Scorpions, and was named in the Championship 1 team of the year at the end of the season. He returned to Crusaders in 2011 and made 12 further appearances for the club. At the end of the season, he joined

along with international team-mate Ben Flower.

Wigan Warriors

Dudson featured for Wigan in the 2013 Challenge Cup Final victory over Hull F.C. at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

. He played in the 2013 Super League Grand Final victory over the

Warrington Wolves Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England. They play home games at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. Warringto ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

Widnes Vikings

In January 2015, he signed for

for the 2015 seasons on a two-year deal.

Salford Red Devils

He played in the 2019 Super League Grand Final defeat by St. Helens at

Catalans Dragons

On 18 December 2020, it was announced that Dudson would join the

for the 2021 season on a two-year contract. On 9 October 2021, Dudson played for Catalans in their 2021 Super League Grand Final defeat against St Helens. In round 1 of the 2022 Super League season, Dudson was sent to the sin bin within the first minute of the game in Catalans 28–8 loss against St Helens.

Warrington Wolves

On 23 May 2022, Dudson signed a contract to join

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

for the 2023 Super League season. In round 8 of the 2023 Super League season, Dudson was sent off in Warrington's 20–14 victory over

after punching Tom Johnstone when he was lying on the ground. On 12 April 2023, Dudson was suspended for five matches over the incident.

Salford Red Devils (loan)

On 13 March 2024 it was reported that he had signed for

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

on loan for the remainder of the 2024 season.

Oldham RLFC

On 12 Sep 2024 it was reported that he had signed for

in the

on a 2-year deal.

International honours

Dudson made his

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

début while at Celtic Crusaders in 2008. Dudson has since been a regular for Wales, and featured in their 2011 Four Nations campaign. Dudson played in all three of Wales' games in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup. Dudson did not play for Wales again until October 2016, where he was part of the Cymru's 2017 World Cup qualifying campaign. Dudson scored a try in Wales' opening game against Serbia.

References

External links

Salford Red Devils profileWidnes Vikings profileSL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dudson, Gil 1990 births Living people 21st-century Welsh sportsmen Catalans Dragons players Crusaders Rugby League players Oldham R.L.F.C. players Rugby league players from Cardiff Rugby league props Salford Red Devils players South Wales Scorpions players Wales national rugby league team players Warrington Wolves players Welsh rugby league players Widnes Vikings players Wigan Warriors players