OVER the years many players in rugby league have hit the significant landmark of 500 professional appearances.
That many games in the toughest of sports shows true longevity and a special sort of stamina and fitness, so once it’s reached it’s definitely worth celebrating.
Records are still being collated for those earliest players in the game, so it is difficult to bring you a definitive list of all those players to hit this personal total, and even surpass it.
So instead, and to tie in with this special issue of the magazine, we are selecting two players from each of the decades Open Rugby/Rugby League World has been in production that have gone on to reach this landmark.
1970s
JOHN JOYNER
John Joyner is the ultimate one-club man, having played 613 matches, a club record, for Castleford between 1972 and 1992. He then coached the club for 127 games between 1993 and 1997, leading them to one of its most famous victories, the 33-2 victory over Wigan in the Regal Trophy Final at Headingley on 22nd January, 1994.
Jointly with Mal Reilly, he is widely and rightly regarded as Castleford’s greatest player in the club’s history.
As a player, Joyner was the epitome of the elegant centre, who was able to glide through an opposition defence for a try of his own (he scored 185 for Castleford) or put his winger through for a crucial score. He also won 16 caps for Great Britain and four for England.
But it was as a stand-off that he captained Castleford to a thrilling Challenge Cup Final victory in 1986, when they defeated Hull KR 15-14 at Wembley that year.
Total Appearances: 650
Castleford – 613; England – 4; Great Britain – 16; Great Britain Under 24s – 5; Yorkshire – 12
NEIL FOX
There are some players who you feel fortunate to have seen in their prime.
And in the case of Neil Fox, we feel sorry for anyone who is too young to have seen the best of him, which was when he was at the height of his powers in the 1960s, winning three Challenge Cups with Wakefield Trinity in 1960, 1962 and 1963 and two Championship titles in 1967 and 1968. He spent a season with Bradford Northern before returning to Wakefield at the start of the 70s before spending the rest of the decade with spells at Hull KR, York, Bramley, Huddersfield and Bradford.
The scorer of 6,220 points – the one rugby league record that we can be confident will stand for all time – Neil wasthe youngest of three brothers from the small mining village of Sharlston, who all made their mark on rugby league was a giant of the game.
Total Appearances: 828
Wakefield Trinity – 574; Bradford Northern – 70; Hull KR – 59; York – 13; Bramley – 23; Huddersfield – 21; England – 1; Great Britain – 49; Eastern Selected XIII – 1; Yorkshire – 17
1980s
JOHN HOLMES
A Leeds legend forever immortalised at Headingley Stadium. What more can be said about John Holmes, who despite making his Leeds debut as a 16-year-old in 1968, was still playing in the 80s, retiring in 1990 after making a club record 625 appearances.
A local lad born in Kirkstall, just down the road from the stadium, he started off as a centre or fullback, before switching to stand-off in the later years of his career.
Throughout his 22 years with the club, Holmes played in 19 major finals with Leeds, winning 14 of them, claiming every honour in the domestic game and added to that with a World Cup win with Great Britain in 1972.
Following his death from cancer in 2009, a statue commemorating Holmes was unveiled outside the South Stand in July 2021.
Total Appearances: 673
Leeds – 625; England – 7; Great Britain – 20; Yorkshire – 8; other tour games – 13
KEITH MUMBY
Whilst many might consider Trevor Foster the ultimate Bradford legend, Keith Mumby isn’t far behind and remains the club’s all time appearance maker with 588 – 160 more than Foster on 428.
Born in Spennymoor in County Durham, Mumby moved to Yorkshire at a young age and was handed his Bradford debut in 1973 at the age of 16, scoring a try and 12 goals that day.
He scored a total of 68 tries and 779 goals for Bradford, holding the club’s overall points total record until Paul Deacon surpassed that in 2006.
Over recent years Bradford have named ‘Millennium Masters’, ‘Bull Masters’ and ‘Team of the Century’ sides, with Mumby one of just six players to feature in all three lists.
Mumby also featured for Sheffield Eagles, Keighley, Ryedale-York and Wakefield in the domestic game, whilst also earning multiple representative caps throughout his career.
Total Appearances: 682
Bradford – 588; Sheffield Eagles – 44; Keighley – 3; Ryedale-York – 7; Wakefield Trinity – 3; England – 2; Great Britain – 20; Great Britain Under 24s – 6; Yorkshire 9
1990s
KEITH SENIOR
Starting his career at Sheffield, Keith Senior went on to become one of the most feared centres in rugby league, and also one of the most decorated, winning every honour in the domestic game.
He featured in both the first-ever Super League game when Sheffield lost to Paris, and in the Eagles’ shock 17-8 win over Wigan in the 1998 Challenge Cup Final.
After six season in South Yorkshire he joined Leeds Rhinos where he went on to spend 12 trophy-filled seasons, including three consecutive league titles between 2007 and 2009 – becoming the first player to reach 500 Super League appearances in the latter of those seasons.
He could have finished with even more games under his belt having signed for Crusaders RL after leaving the Rhinos in 2011, but they withdrew from Super League soon after the move was announced, leading Senior to announce his retirement from the game.
Total Appearances: 559
Sheffield Eagles 140; Leeds Rhinos – 365; England – 10; Great Britain – 39; Yorkshire – 4; Emerging England – 1
KEIRON CUNNINGHAM
Another one club man immortalised in bronze by the club he called home for his entire career, Keiron Cunningham will forever be a St Helens legend.
A 17-year playing career with the club brought five Super League Championships, seven Challenge Cup winners medals and two World Club Challenge victories. Retiring in 2010 after just short of 500 games for the club, the Great Britain and Wales international beat names such as Tom Van Vollenhoven and Alex Murphy to be the subject of a statue at the new Totally Wicked Stadium.
After hanging up his boots we went straight into the coaching set up at the club, progressing from an assistant in the strength and conditioning department to being appointed as head coach ahead of the 2015 season. He left the club less than two years later after a poor start in 2017 and subsequently spent time with Leigh.
Total Appearances: 526
St Helens – 496; Wales – 11; Great Britain 17; Lancashire – 2
2000s
JAMIE PEACOCK
With nine Grand Final wins under his belt, Jamie Peacock is one of the most decorated players of his generation – winning his first in 2001 with Bradford and his last for Leeds 14 years later in 2015.
After cementing a reputation as one of the best second rowers in the game in his 207 appearances for Bradford, Peacock moved to Leeds and showed he had even more to offer, spending another trophy-filled decade at Headingley. So it is perhaps no surprise he also had a spell as captain of his country on the international stage.
The final four appearances of Peacock’s career came at Hull KR, whom he’d joined as a coach upon retiring. Injuries throughout the Robins squad at the end of the year saw Peacock lace up his boots once again to help out with numbers before reverting to his off field role.
Total Appearances: 557
Bradford Bulls – 207; Leeds Rhinos – 289; Featherstone Rovers – 4; Hull KR – 4; England 23; Great Britain – 26; Yorkshire – 4
BEN WESTWOOD
Yorkshire-born Ben Westwood quickly became an adopted Warringtonian during his 18-year spell with the Wire.
In June 2002 Warrington paid Wakefield Trinity a transfer fee of £60,000 for Westwood, who had previously made 41 appearances in three and a half years for the Yorkshire outfit. He made his debut a week later in the ‘on the road’ game giants London Broncos in Carcassonne, France and never looked back.
During his time at Warrington he won the Challenge Cup final twice, both against Leeds in 2010 and 2012, but tasted defeat at Wembley and Old Trafford on more occasions than he’d probably care to remember.
In August 2017 he became the 10th player behind Lee Briers, Mark Forster, Parry Gordon, Brian Bevan, Gerry Helme, Jack Miller, Billy Cunliffe, Jim Tranter and Alf Boardman to reach 400 games for the club.
Total Appearances: 520
Wakefield Trinity – 41; Warrington Wolves – 446; England – 30; England Knights – 1; England under 21s – 1; Yorkshire – 1
2010s
JAMES ROBY
Super League’s all time record appearance maker with 495, James Roby really is one of the greatest players this game has ever seen.
Learning his trade at hooker from Keiron Cunningham, Roby quickly became unrivalled in the number 9 role and proved himself to be Mr Consistent during his 20-years at St Helens, being named in the Super League dream team on seven different occasions.
In that time he won six Super League titles, eight League Leaders’ Shields, four Challenge Cups and two World Club Challenges.
When St Helens played Salford in May 2023, Roby became the club’s all time leading appearance maker with 532, beating the record previously held by Kel Coslett.
Having won the World Club Challenge against Penrith in Australia earlier in the year, Roby’s sparkling career came to an end with a play-off semi-final defeat to Catalans Dragons in 2023.
Total Appearances: 594
St Helens – 551; England 36; Great Britain – 7
KEVIN SINFIELD
What more can be said about Kevin Sinfield than what has already been said. He really is one of rugby league’s true super heroes.
Not only did his success on the field make him a legend in this sport, but his charity efforts and ultimate shows of friendship since December 2019 has sent his popularity among the Great British public stratospheric.
As captain of his only club, Sinfield led Leeds Rhinos to seven Super League titles and two Challenge Cup final wins. He also captained England, earned 14 caps for Great Britain and in 2012 became only the fifth British player to win the International Golden Boot award.
One thing that perhaps sets Sinfield apart from any other player is his popularity off the pitch, where he has become a national hero for raising millions of pounds for Motor Neurone Disease charities since his former team mate Rob Burrow was diagnosed with the illness in 2019.
Total Appearances: 569
Leeds Rhinos – 521; England – 29; Great Britain – 15; Lancashire – 4
2020s
CHRIS HILL
Most of the players who have reached the 500 games points have now retired, but Chris Hill is playing on, and doing so at the highest level – Super League, which is where he has spent the last 13 season.
After starting out with Leigh in 2005 when they were still in the top flight, the now 36-year-old spent six years in the Championship with them, proving himself as one of the most consistent forwards in the competition. That form earned him a move to Warrington Wolves for 2012, where he won the Challenge Cup in his first season. A decade later and he joined Huddersfield Giants, and it was while there, on April 14th, 2022, he made his 500th career appearance.
As well as club games, Hill has earned 38 England caps and made four appearances for Great Britain.
If he decides to play on for another year at least, he could find himself pushing towards James Roby’s appearance total.
Total Appearances (as of August 12th, 2024): 556
Leigh Leopards – 160; Warrington Wolves – 297; Huddersfield Giants – 57 (if plays); England – 38; Great Britain – 4
PAUL SYKES
Alongside Hill, another player who is still lacing up his boots is Paul Sykes, although he is now plying his trade in the Championship with Dewsbury Rams.
For the last few years he has mentioned retiring, but his body has always felt good enough to do “one more year”, despite recently turning 43.
Debuting for Bradford Bulls as a 17-year-old in 1999, it is believed that Sykes is the only player still playing that featured in that last decade of the 20th century.
Leaving the Bulls in August 2002 after making just nine appearances, Skyes went on to make a name for himself at London Broncos before returning for a second spell with Bradford.
He has since gone on to play for Wakefield and Featherstone and joined Dewsbury in 2016.
The half back has also featured once for Great Britain, five times for England and a further five times for England A.
Total Appearances (as of August 12th, 2024): 534
Bradford Bulls – 109; London Broncos – 137; Wakefield Trinity – 62; Featherstone Rovers – 34; Dewsbury Rams – 182 (if plays); England – 5; England A – 5; Great Britain – 1
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 500 (September 2024)
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