‘Proud Salfordian’ Adrian Morley is a former professional rugby league player and the first British rugby player to win Grand Final in NRL and Super League.
Adrian is described as a proud Salfordian and even though he has had a very successful career he does not show off about it, he is very humble and down to earth.
Early in his career Morley made himself known as a powerful second-row forward by making 149 appearances for Leeds Rhinos and making 35 tries. The major early achievement came in 1999 when Leeds won the challenge cup beating London, while Morley was still at Leeds when they reached the Super league Grand Final in 1998.
“He became one of the most feared and respected forwards of the 30 years since the introduction of the super league” said Andy Wilson Head of Comms at Rugby League Care, a charity dedicated to supporting rugby league players, the wider RL family and local communities through health and wellbeing programmes.
When Morley was 23 he left Leeds and took on a much bigger challenge in Australia which was arguably the defining period in his career.
He joined Sydney Roosters in 2001 moving from Super League to the National Rugby League. Which is a big gamble for a British player. This is because there are differences in playing from Super league to NRL.
Morley became widely known in Australia, when the roosters won the NRL Grand Final which he played a major role in. this was the Sydney roosters won their first premiership in 27 years. In total he made 114 appearances with the Roosters and in that time Morley became the first English player to appear in three Australian Grand Finals.
In 2005 Morley returned to England where he played further with Bradford Bulls. Even though he wasn’t there for a long time he still played six games and was a part of their 2005 super league winning team. He then went on to join Warrington Wolves 2007 as they became challenge cup winners three times.
Morley ended his career with Salford Red Devils, his hometown club. He played 54 games with Salford before retiring from professional rugby league. He will always be known as a legend in the rugby world with his skills.
He even wrote an autobiography about his life in rugby. The book covers life in the NRL and super league, his reputation as “The Hard Man” and many other things that have happened in his rugby career up to that point. It was released in 2012.
Andy said: “I’ve genuinely never heard anyone say a bad word about him, which is pretty incredible in a professional sport. He was well liked in every club he had been at as he put 110% into every game he played and is now doing work that helps sports players.”
Even though he retired from rugby he briefly coached the Leeds Academy before moving into work outside of rugby.
“Moz is aware of the courage and commitment required to play rugby league at any level, and relishes the chance to raise money for the tiny minority who have suffered life-changing injuries,” Andy said.
Adrian Morley is now a player-ambassador and well-being manager at Rugby League Cares.
“He’d already made a huge contribution to the charity which the support of the annual bike rides which raise money for the seriously injured player fund,” said Andy about how Adrian helps with the charity.
“That has continued in the last two years and the experience of spending a week with Moz is one of the highlights for everyone involved.”
