Andy Ackers
Personal information
Full nameAndrew Ackers
Born (1993-12-25) 25 December 1993
Golborne, England
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight14 st 2 lb (90 kg)
Playing information
PositionHooker
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2014–15 Swinton Lions 56 26 0 0 104
2016–17 London Broncos 48 20 0 0 80
2018–20 Toronto Wolfpack 66 28 0 0 112
2020–23 Salford Red Devils 74 10 0 0 490
2024– Leeds Rhinos 0 0 0 0 0
Total 244 84 0 0 786
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2022 England 2 2 0 0 8
Source: [1][2]
As of 18 October 2023

Andrew Ackers (born 25 December 1993) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker for the Leeds Rhinos in the Betfred Super League and represents England at the international level.

He has previously played for the Swinton Lions in the Championship and Championship 1, the London Broncos in the Championship, and the Toronto Wolfpack in the Betfred Championship and the Super League.

Background

Ackers was born in Golborne, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. He started playing rugby league at the age of 12 for Golborne Parkside before signing for Hindley.[3]

Playing career

Early career

Ackers was recruited into the Wigan Warriors Academy at the age of 18. He played for the under-18s during the 2012 season[4] but was released without making a single first-team appearance. Ackers then signed with Warrington after a successful trial and captained their under-19s team in 2013.[4]

In the 2014 season, Ackers joined Championship side Swinton Lions on loan before signing a permanent deal with the club a year later. Over a two-year period, he scored 26 tries in 56 games.

London Broncos

Ackers playing for the London Broncos in 2016

Ackers became a full time professional as a 23-year-old at the London Broncos signing for the 2016 and 2017.

It was announced on 9 May 2016, that Ackers extended his contract to the end of the 2018 season.[5] The London Broncos finished 2nd in both 2016 and 2017, thus he played in the Qualifiers Super 8's for a place in Super League.

Ackers playing for the London Broncos away at Toulouse in 2017

Ackers last game for London was an away game against Widnes Vikings in the Qualifiers on 16 September 2017. Shortly after, he left the club after the Broncos accepted his request to be released for family reasons.[6]

Toronto Wolfpack

Ackers signed for Canadian-based club Toronto Wolfpack a few days after his release. The move was criticised by London Broncos, as Ackers had initially requested his release in order to spend more time with his family in the north of England.[7] In both seasons in the Championship his team made the finals stages. His first season saw his club beaten by 4 points at 2 in the Million Pound Game with Ackers sinbinned in the final for a high tackle.

Ackers playing for the Toronto Wolfpack away at the LD Nutrition Stadium in 2019

His second season saw his club beat part-time Featherstone to be promoted. His third season saw Toronto lose all their Super League games and become hot favourites for relegation. Ackers suddenly left in June 2020; a few weeks before the events at Toronto that would see them ultimately liquidated.[8]

Salford

On 4 June 2020, Ackers left Toronto and signed a contract with Salford that would run until 2022.[9] Following an impressive start to the 2022 season it was announced Ackers had signed one-year contract extension with Salford Red Devils which would keep him at the AJ Bell Stadium until the end of the 2023 season.[10] In the 2023 Super League season, Ackers played 20 matches for Salford as the club finished 7th on the table and missed the playoffs.[11]

Leeds

On 18 October 2023, Ackers signed a three-year deal to join Leeds ahead of the 2024 Super League season.[12]

England

Following an outstanding season with Salford, Ackers was announced as part of Shaun Wane's England World Cup squad on 30 September 2022.[13] In the third group stage match at the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, Ackers scored two tries for England in a 94-4 victory over minnows Greece.[14]

References

  1. ↑ Rugby League Project
  2. ↑ "Player Summary: Andy Ackers". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  3. ↑ "Hard work and self belief: The remarkable rise of Andy Ackers". Love Rugby League. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Wigan Rugby League History - 2012 Valvoline Academy (Under 18s)". www.cherryandwhite.co.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  5. ↑ "Ackers commits to London". Total Rugby League. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  6. ↑ "Barthau and Ackers granted Broncos release". Love Rugby League. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  7. ↑ "London Broncos criticise Andy Ackers' move to Toronto Wolfpack". www.skysports.com.
  8. ↑ "Toronto Wolfpack Thank Fans for Incredible Journey". Toronto Wolfpack. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  9. ↑ "Hooker Andy Ackers leaves Toronto Wolfpack for the Salford Red Devils". Rocky Mountain Outlook. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  10. ↑ "Andy Ackers leaves Toronto Wolfpack for the Salford Red Devils". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  11. ↑ "Salford Red Devils' 2023 season in review". www.salfordnow.co.uk. 2 October 2023.
  12. ↑ "Brodie Croft & Andy Ackers: Leeds Rhinos sign Salford Red Devils pair on three-year deals". BBC Sport. 18 October 2023.
  13. ↑ "Rugby League World Cup: England name Dom Young and Victor Radley in squad". BBC Sport.
  14. ↑ "Rugby League World Cup: England crush Greece as Dom Young scores four tries". BBC Sport.
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