Morley proud to reach 500 appearances

Adrian Morley‘s next appearance will be the 500th of his memorable career, and he says it will be a ‘proud moment’.

Morley, 36, has played club rugby league at the top level since debuting as a 17-year-old for Leeds in 1994.

Between 1994 and 2000 he played 149 games for the Rhinos before making the decision to move to Australia and play in the NRL with Sydney Roosters. From 2001 to 2006 he made 114 appearances as the Roosters regularly challenged at the top of the competition, including a Premiership win in 2002.

For a short spell in 2005 he played 6 loan games for Bradford, and in 2007 he moved back to England permanently by signing with Warrington.

He still remains a key player at the Wolves having played a total of 167 games for he club up to now. Morley, who will finish the season with Warrington before joining home-town club Salford on a year-long contract, has also played one game on dual-registration at Swinton.

The rest of his appearances have come at international level with 37 for Great Britain and 25 for England – for some of which he has been captain.

Morley recently told Love Rugby League that he never expected to reach such a milestone in his career.

He said, “This is a proud moment because I didn’t think it would happen. I’ve played a lot longer than I thought. My body has held up well and I’ve been lucky enough to keep playing to the standard I need to be at.

“500 games makes me feel old but it will be an exciting occasion.

“Hopefully there is more to come, firstly for Warrington and then obviously at Salford next year.”