Graham Steadman (born 8 December 1961) is an English former 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 played in the 1980s and 1990s, and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

ed in the 2000s. He played at representative level for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, and at club level for

York Wasps The York Wasps (known simply as York from 1868 to 1989, Ryedale-York from 1989 to 1996 and York Wasps from 1996 to 2002) was an English professional rugby league club based in York. At the start of the 2002 season, the club was dissolved. A ne ...

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England, who play in the Championship. Featherstone is a former coal mining town with a population of around 16,000 and Rovers are one of the last "small ...

, Gold Coast-Tweed Giants and

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centr ...

, as a

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ...

-kicking or , and coached at club level for 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 ...

Playing career

Born in

Knottingley Knottingley is a market town in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England on the River Aire and the old A1 road before it was bypassed as the A1(M). Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 13,503, increas ...

, Steadman started his career in

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

, playing for his hometown club Knottingley RUFC. In 1982, he switched to

, and signed for

York York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

International honours

Graham Steadman won

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s for

while at Castleford in 1990 against France, in 1992 against France, in 1992 in the

1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup The 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (sometimes shortened to 1992 Rugby League World Cup) was the tenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup, and continued to use the three-year format, stretching across the years 1989 to 1992. As with the ...

against France, in 1992 against Australia (2 matches), in 1992 in the

against Australia, in 1992 against New Zealand (2 matches), and in 1994 against France, and Australia.

County honours

Graham Steadman won a

for

while at

; during the 1988–89 season as an

interchange Interchange may refer to: Transport * Interchange (road), a collection of ramps, exits, and entrances between two or more highways * Interchange (freight rail), the transfer of freight cars between railroad companies * Interchange station, a rai ...

/ substitute against

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

, and he won

s for

while at Castleford playing , and scoring 2- tries, and 4-

s in the 56–12 victory over

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

's stadium on 20 September 1989, and as a substitute in the 17–12 victory over

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

' stadium on 18 September 1991.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Graham Steadman played in

's 12–28 defeat by

in the 1991–92 Challenge Cup Final during the 1991–92 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on Saturday 2 May 1992, in front of a crowd of 77,386.

County Cup Final appearances

Graham Steadman played at in

's 11–8 victory over

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 ...

in the 1990–91 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1990–91 season at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Premier League club Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the ...

on Sunday 23 September 1990, and played, and scored two tries and four

s in the 28–6 victory over

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is pr ...

in the 1991–92 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1991–92 season at

on Sunday 20 October 1991.

Regal Trophy Final appearances

Graham Steadman played in

's 33–2 victory over

in the 1993–94 Regal Trophy Final during the 1993–94 season at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingl ...

on Saturday 22 January 1994.

World transfer record

Castleford paid a then world transfer record of £170,000 for Graham Steadman when he moved from Featherstone Rovers in 1989 (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £435,200 in 2013).

Career records

Graham Steadman holds

's "Most points in a season" record with 318-points scored in the 1984–85 season, beating

Vic Yorke Victor "Vic" S. Yorke (birth registered third ¼ 1933 – July 2009) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He played at representative level for Rugby League XIII and Rugby League War of the Rose ...

's 301-points set in the 1957–58 season.

Coaching career

Steadman was made full-time coach of the Castleford Tigers towards the end of 2001 after

Stuart Raper Stuart may refer to: Names *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile * Stuart (automobile) Places Australia Generally * Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory North ...

left for Wigan. Steadman took the club to the top 6 playoffs in 2002 and then the club finished 8th in 2003. 2004 saw his worst year as coach when the club failed to win any games under Steadman. A lot of people blamed the board for not backing him with money to spend.

Honoured at Castleford

Graham Steadman is a

Hall of Fame Inductee.

References

External links

Offiah hails arrival of Fielden
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steadman, Graham 1961 births Living people Castleford Tigers coaches Castleford Tigers players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Featherstone Rovers players Gold Coast Chargers players Great Britain national rugby league team players Huddersfield Giants players Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league fullbacks Sportspeople from Knottingley Rugby league players from West Yorkshire York Wasps players Yorkshire rugby league team players