Ryan "Kes" Brierley
Personal information
Full nameRyan Brierley
Born (1992-03-12) 12 March 1992
Preston, Lancashire, England
Height5 ft 11.5 in (181.6 cm)
Weight12 st 12 lb (82 kg)
Playing information
PositionFullback, Scrum-half, Stand-off
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2012–16 Leigh Centurions 125 133 26 4 588
2016–17 Huddersfield Giants 26 15 2 0 64
2017–19 Toronto Wolfpack 40 26 83 2 272
2019(loan) → Leigh Centurions 13 11 21 1 87
2020 Hull Kingston Rovers 10 3 8 0 28
2021 Leigh Centurions 10 5 12 0 44
2022– Salford Red Devils 26 12 6 0 60
Total 250 205 158 7 1143
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2016– Scotland 9 3 18 0 48
Source: [1][2]
As of 31 December 2022

Ryan Brierley (born 12 March 1992) is a Scotland international rugby league footballer who plays as a goal-kicking fullback, scrum-half or stand-off for the Salford Red Devils in the Betfred Super League.

He previously played for the Leigh Centurions over two separate spells in the Championship and in the Super League. Brierley has also played for the Huddersfield Giants in the top flight and the Toronto Wolfpack in the lower tiers, and spent time on loan from Toronto at the Centurions in the second tier.

Background

Brierley was born in Preston, Lancashire, England. After moving to Bolton as a two-year old, Brierley played junior rugby with local club Westhoughton Lions.[3]

Club career

Early career

Brierley joined Castleford Tigers academy in 2009, and appeared in a first team friendly for Castleford early in 2012, scoring a try against York City Knights.

Leigh Centurions

After failing to get an opportunity in the first team with Castleford, Brierley joined Leigh Centurions. Brierley's first appearance for the club came on Saturday 7 January 2012 when he scored two tries in a friendly victory away to Super League neighbours Salford.

He became a prolific try-scorer at the club, finishing as the club's top try-scorer for four consecutive seasons between 2012 and 2015. He moved into the club's top 5 all-time leading try-scorers with 133 in 125 appearances following a two-try display against Bradford Bulls on 28 February 2016, which was his last match for the club.[4]

Huddersfield

After triggering a clause in his contract, Brierley left Leigh and joined Super League club Huddersfield Giants on a four-and-a-half year contract in March 2016.[5]

Toronto Wolfpack

Brierley signed with the Toronto Wolfpack for an undisclosed transfer fee in April 2017.[6]

Hull Kingston Rovers

Brierley signed with Hull Kingston Rovers in December 2019.[7] Rovers finished bottom of the table, avoiding relegation following former club Toronto's exit from the competition.[8]

Leigh Centurions (rejoined)

After just one season with Hull KR, Brierley returned to Leigh for the 2021 season.[9]

In July, Brierley was ruled out indefinitely with an eye injury,[10] but returned before the end of the season to score a hat-trick against Wakefield Trinity, Leigh's second victory of the season.[11]

Salford Red Devils

On 20 September 2021, Brierley signed for Salford in the Super League, the club he supported as a child.[12] Brierley played 26 games for Salford in the 2022 Super League season including the clubs semi-final loss against St Helens. In the 2023 Super League season, Brierley played 26 games for Salford as the club finished 7th on the table.[13]

International career

Though born in England, Brierley's family is from Kilwinning in North Ayrshire, and thus he qualifies to play for Scotland at international level.[14] He made his Scotland début in the 2016 Four Nations, scoring a try in a defeat by Australia.

Honours

References

  1. ↑ "Ryan Brierley". loverugbyleague.com. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  2. ↑ Rugby League Project
  3. ↑ "Out of Your League with Salford Red Devils' Ryan Brierley". 23 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  4. ↑ "Turley praises Brierley's achievement in reaching top five try scorers". Leigh Journal.
  5. ↑ "Ryan Brierley leaves Leigh to join Huddersfield Giants". Manchester Evening News.
  6. ↑ "Toronto Wolfpack sign Huddersfield Giants and Scotland international Ryan Brierley". Sky Sports. 20 April 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  7. ↑ "Hull Kingston Rovers sign Jamie Ellis and Ryan Brierley". Sky Sports. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  8. ↑ "Toronto Wolfpack exit Super League season". The Guardian. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  9. ↑ "Ryan Brierley returns to Leigh". Love Rugby League. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  10. ↑ "Leigh's Ryan Brierley to see specialist about horrific eye injury". Leigh Journal. 8 July 2021.
  11. ↑ "Leigh Centurions 26-18 Wakefield Trinity". BBC Sport.
  12. ↑ "Ryan Brierley to join boyhood club Salford". Love Rugby League. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  13. ↑ "Salford Red Devils' 2023 season in review". www.salfordnow.co.uk. 2 October 2023.
  14. ↑ Brierley admits Scotland début is highlight of his career
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