Liam Richard Finn (born 2 November 1983) is a former rugby league footballer. An Ireland international representative scrum-half, stand-off or hooker, he played for Halifax, Widnes Vikings, Wakefield Trinity (two spells) and Castleford Tigers in the Super League, as well as Dewsbury Rams and Featherstone Rovers in the Championship. He was the head coach of Halifax Panthers in 2024.
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| Full name | Liam Richard Finn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 2 November 1983 Halifax, West Yorkshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 14 st 7 lb (92 kg) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Stand-off, Scrum-half, Hooker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Background
editFinn was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England.[4]
Club career
editAfter brief stints in the Super League with Halifax and the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats as a young player, Finn spent most of his career in the Championship, playing for the Featherstone Rovers and the Dewsbury Rams. He returned to Super League in 2014 with the Castleford Tigers, and played for them in the 2014 Challenge Cup Final defeat by the Leeds Rhinos at Wembley Stadium.[5]
In October 2015, Finn re-joined Wakefield Trinity Wildcats on a two-year deal.[4]
In September 2021, Finn announced that he would be retiring at the end of the season.[6]
Testimonial match
editA benefit season/testimonial match for Liam Finn, allocated by the Rugby Football League, took place at Featherstone Rovers during the 2013 season.
International career
editFinn was named in the Ireland squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.[7][8]
In 2010 he represented Ireland in the Alitalia European Cup. Also he followed up his 2009 Championship 1 Player of the Year award with a Championship player of the year award in 2010 for Featherstone Rovers in his first season back with Rovers.
He was named as captain of Ireland in 2012, and was later confirmed as captain for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup campaign.[9]
He is Ireland's joint most capped player alongside Bob Beswick and is also Ireland's record point scorer.
In November 2014, Finn was called up to play for Ireland in their final European Cup game against Wales. He was a huge influence scoring a total of 18 points in their sides massive 42–14 victory. However, their performance wasn't good enough as Ireland needed to win by 41 points if they were to secure the European Cup title, a place in the 2016 Four Nations and 2017 Rugby League World Cup.
Unlike 2014, Finn was called up to the Irish squad in October before the European Cup which began on 17 October 2015.
In 2016 he was called up to the Ireland squad for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup European Pool B qualifiers.[10]
Coaching career
editDewsbury Rams
editFinn joined the Dewsbury Rams as their head coach in June 2022.[11]
Halifax Panthers
editIn August 2023, Finn was appointed as head coach of Halifax Panthers on a three-year deal from the 2024 season.[12]
Huddersfield Giants
editOn 26 Sep 2024, it was announced that he would take up an assistant coach role at Huddersfield Giants for 2025[13]
References
edit- ^ "Castleford Tigers 1st Team Liam Finn". Official Castleford Tigers web site. Castleford Tigers Rugby League Football Club Ltd. 2015. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
- ^ "Player Summary: Liam Finn". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
- ^ Ferguson, Shawn Dollin and Andrew. "Liam Finn - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project".
- ^ a b "Finn switches to the Wildcats". Halifax Courier. 22 October 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ "Leeds lift Challenge Cup after Ryan Hall's double stuns Castleford". Guardian. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ "Dewsbury Rams veteran Liam Finn to retire admitting 'I couldn't give it my all anymore'". Yorkshire Post. 14 September 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
- ^ "Cassidy included in Ireland squad". BBC. 7 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
- ^ "Ireland Name World Cup 40 Man Training Squad". Rugby League Ireland. 1 August 2008. Archived from the original on 14 April 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
- ^ "Rugby League World Cup 2013: Ireland name 24-man squad". BBC Sport.
- ^ "Warrington Wolves trio named in Ireland squad for World Cup qualifiers". Warrington Guardian. 24 September 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ "Finn to depart Rams". Dewsbury Rams. 15 August 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
- ^ "Halifax Panthers appoint Liam Finn as new Head Coach from 2024". Rugby-League.com. 16 August 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
- ^ Drew Darbyshire (26 September 2024). "Liam Finn's new Super League role announced following Halifax Panthers' departure confirmation". Love Rugby League.