Joe Wardle (born 22 September 1991) is a former

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

international

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 last played as a or forward and is currently assistant-coach for the

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 League 1 The Rugby Football League's League One (known as the Betfred League One) is the third-highest division of rugby league in Britain. It is also the lowest level of professional rugby league in Britain. Introduced in 2003 as National League 2 i ...

. He previously played for the

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. The club have won the League Championship six times, the Challenge Cup f ...

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

and the

Castleford Tigers The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England. They play their home games at Wheldon Road (currently known as the Mend-A-Hose Jungle for sponsorship reasons) and compete in the Super League, t ...

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 the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league team based in Newcastle, New South Wales that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, the Knights joined the top-tier competition in New ...

in the

NRL The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

. He spent time on loan from the

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) * Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'g ...

at the

Barrow Raiders The Barrow Raiders are a semi-professional rugby league team in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The club play home games at Craven Park (Barrow), Craven Park and compete in the RFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of British rug ...

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 ...

in 2011. He has also spent time on loan from

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, 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 t ...

at Huddersfield in the Super League.

Background

Wardle was born in

Halifax, West Yorkshire Halifax is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. In the 15th century, the town became an economic hub of the old West Riding of Yorkshire, primarily in woo ...

, England.

Career

Bradford Bulls

Wardle came through the ranks at

after signing from Illingworth A.R.L.F.C. Wardle made his début for the Bradford Bulls against

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 ...

in the

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

in May 2010. He débuted in the

a week later against the

Huddersfield Giants The Huddersfield Giants are an English professional rugby league club from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Huddersfield play their home games at the John Smiths Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league sy ...

. He made his first start for the club in the next game against

Crusaders RL Crusaders Rugby League () was a professional rugby league club based in Bridgend and later in Wrexham, Wales. They played for six seasons in the Rugby Football League competitions, including three years in the Super League from 2009 to 2011. F ...

, but suffered an injury which prevented him from establishing a regular place in the first team. He returned to play for the under-20's team after recovering from the injury, but suffered a torn

quadriceps The quadriceps femoris muscle (, also called the quadriceps extensor, quadriceps or quads) is a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh. It is the sole extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large ...

, which would keep him out of action for the rest of the season. In September 2010, he rejected a new contract from Bradford, and instead signed for the

Huddersfield Giants

In 2011, he spent time on loan at the

. After performing well in the first half of the season, he was given a two-year contract extension, keeping him at the

Galpharm Stadium Kirklees Stadium, currently known as the John Smith's Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Since 1994, it has been the home ground of Huddersfield Town Association Football Club ...

until the end of 2014. In July 2013, he was rewarded with a further contract extension until 2017. He was named the 2014 Huddersfield Giants season's player of the year.

Newcastle Knights

During the 2016 season, Wardle signed a contract with

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

side the

, starting in 2018. However, he was able to gain a release in December to join the Newcastle Knights a year early ahead of the 2017 season, on a 3-year contract. He made his Newcastle Knights début in round 4 of the 2017 season against the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...

Castleford Tigers

Wardle only played 17 matches for the Newcastle Knights after becoming homesick and gaining a release to return to England on a 3-year contract with Super League side the

Leigh Centurions

On 15 October 2021, it was reported that he had signed for

Leigh Centurions The Leigh Leopards are a professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England. Leigh play homes games at Leigh Sports Village and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. ...

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) ...

In round 2 of the 2023 Super League season, Wardle suffered an arm injury in the clubs 14-6 loss against 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 ...

. Wardle was later ruled out for an indefinite period. In round 20 of the 2023 Super League season, Wardle made his return to the Leigh side as they were defeated by rivals

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

44-18. Wardle played 11 games for Leigh in the 2023 Super League season as the club finished fifth on the table and qualified for the playoffs. He played in their elimination playoff loss against Hull Kington Rovers.

Oldham RLFC

On 10 September 2023, it was reported that he had signed for

in the

on a two-year deal as player/assistant-coach.

International career

In October and November 2013, he played for

in their

2013 Rugby League World Cup The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth World Cup for men’s national rugby league teams. It took place between the 26 October and 30 November and was hosted by England and Wales (although some games were played in France and Ire ...

campaign. In October and November 2014, he played in the

2014 European Cup The 2014 Rugby League European Championship was an international rugby league football tournament. The tournament took place in England, Wales, France, Ireland and Scotland between 17 October and 2 November. It was announced beforehand that the ...

competition.

References

External links

Huddersfield Giants profileCastleford Tigers profileSL profileJoe Wardle Makes Bradford Bulls Debut
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wardle, Joe 1991 births Living people Barrow Raiders players Bradford Bulls players Castleford Tigers players English people of Scottish descent English rugby league players Huddersfield Giants players Leigh Leopards players Newcastle Knights players Oldham R.L.F.C. players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Halifax, West Yorkshire Rugby league second-rows Scotland national rugby league team players