BEING a rugby league player is hard enough, but when players reach their 30s, they will have to seriously think about what they want to do for life after the sport.
Of course, some players stay in the sport and go into coaching whilst others leave rugby league for good.
Here are the five players who will be the oldest in Super League for the 2024 season.
Adam Sidlow – Salford Red Devils – 25/10/87
Just a week older than Chris Hill, Adam Sidlow will be Super League’s oldest player in 2024 following the retirement of Chris McQueen, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook and James Roby. Ahead of the 2023 Super League season, Sidlow reunited with former boss Paul Rowley at the Salford Red Devils after the two worked together at the Toronto Wolfpack. The forward has also had spells with Bradford, Workington and Leigh where Salford signed him. Sidlow made 12 appearances for the Red Devils during the 2023 season.
Chris Hill – Huddersfield Giants – 3/11/87
Born on 3 November 1987, Chris Hill will be 36 years of age when the 2024 season kicks off, but that doesn’t stop him being one of Huddersfield Giants’ most important players. After seven seasons at Leigh and then ten at the Warrington Wolves – where he won the Challenge Cup twice – Hill made a surprise move to the John Smith’s Stadium ahead of the 2022 season –and it’s fair to say it paid off with the prop earning an England call-up to the World Cup as well as the recent three-match Test Series against Tonga.
Ryan Hall – Hull KR – 27/11/97
Like Chris Hill, Ryan Hall is now 36 but he is not showing any signs of slowing down having joined Hull KR ahead of the 2021 Super League season. Since then, the blockbusting winger has scored 46 tries in 75 appearances for the East Yorkshire club, helping them to the Challenge Cup Final in 2023. Hall, who won six Grand Finals and two Challenge Cups with Leeds Rhinos, signed a one-year deal to carry on his incredible career for 2024 with Hull KR.
Michael McIlorum – Catalans Dragons – 10/1/88
Whilst Sam Tomkins retired at the end of the 2023 Super League season, his Catalans Dragons teammate Michael McIlorum will play on in 2024 after signing a one-year deal during the summer. At 35, McIlorum is the oldest player in the French side but is still one of their most influential. Since joining the Dragons in 2018, the hooker has registered 112 appearances, adding to his 242 that he made for the Wigan Warriors.
Leroy Cudjoe – Huddersfield Giants – 7/4/88
Aged 35, Leroy Cudjoe has played his entire rugby league career with the Huddersfield Giants – a career that began back in 2008 and one that will continue into 2024. In that time, the experienced centre has made over 350 appearances for his boyhood club, scoring 132 tries and 62 goals during that 16-year career. Cudjoe also has ten England caps to his name, but there have been no hints that the 35-year-old wants to retire as of yet.
Click here to purchase a digital edition of League Express.
Click here to purchase an online edition of League Express through pocketmags.com.
Click here to listen to our new League Express Podcast.
League Express is widely available from local newsagents across the north of England.
