DW
100px
Former names	JJB Stadium (1999–2009)
Location	Loire Drive, Robin Park, Wigan WN5 0UH
Coordinates	53°32′52″N 2°39′14″W / 53.54778°N 2.65389°W / 53.54778; -2.65389Coordinates: 53°32′52″N 2°39′14″W / 53.54778°N 2.65389°W / 53.54778; -2.65389
Built	1999[1][2]
Opened	7 August 1999
Owner	Whelco Holdings
Operator	Wigan Football Company Ltd
Surface	Grass
Construction cost	£30m[2]
Architect	Alfred McAlpine[1][2]
Capacity	25,133[3]
Field dimensions	105 by 68 metres (115 × 74 yd)[3]
Tenants
Wigan Athletic (Premier League) Wigan Warriors (Super League) Orrell R.U.F.C. (National Division Two)	1999–present[2] 1999–present[2] 2002–2003[4]

The DW Stadium is a sports stadium in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, that is home to Wigan Athletic football club and Wigan Warriors rugby league club.

Built and opened in 1999,^[1] it is named after its main sponsor, DW Sports Fitness,^[5] and managed by the independent Wigan Football Company Limited.^[6]

Its current capacity is 25,138—seated in four single-tier stands—and its record attendance was in 2008 when 25,133 people watched Wigan Athletic play Manchester United in the title-deciding match of the 2007–08 Premier League season.^[1][7][8]

History[link]

A view of the DW Stadium, from the bridge crossing the Leeds and Liverpool Canal

The stadium was built by Alfred McAlpine and completed in August 1999. Wigan Warriors moved to the stadium a month after it opened, once they had played their final home game of the 1999 regular season at Central Park. After their former ground was sold, the possibility of ground sharing with Bolton Wanderers F.C. at the modern Reebok Stadium was presented, however, the new stadium in Wigan was chosen instead.^[9] Their first game at the stadium was a play-off match against Castleford Tigers, which they lost, on 19 September.^[10] Wigan did not lose a competitive match at the stadium in 2001.^{[11] [1]} Wigan Athletic had spent the previous 67 years playing at Springfield Park, and their first match at the stadium was a friendly against Morecambe, just before the stadium's official opening.^[12]

The stadium's inauguration was marked with a friendly between Wigan Athletic and neighbours Manchester United, who were then reigning European Champions, Premier League title and FA Cup holders, with United's manager Sir Alex Ferguson officially opening the stadium.

The first competitive football match there took place on 7 August 1999, with Wigan Athletic facing Scunthorpe United in a Division Two match. Simon Haworth scored twice, including the first competitive goal at the new stadium, as Athletic triumphed 3–0.^[13]

The first away team to win a competitive football match at the stadium was Wigan Athletic. A first round FA Cup tie against non-league Cambridge City was played there due to City's ground being deemed unsuitable to host the tie. Wigan played in their changed strip and used the away dressing room since it was technically a 'home' game for Cambridge City. A Stuart Barlow brace secured the win for Wigan. ^[13] Wigan subsequently lost at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the third round of the FA Cup on 11th December 1999. Oldham Athletic became the first team to beat Wigan in a league fixture at the JJB on 7th January 2000. The game was shown live on sky sports and finished 1-0 thanks to an 86th minute header from Lee Duxbury.

Whilst the Wigan Warriors and Wigan Athletic flourished in the new stadium (Wigan Athletic in particular would achieve significant success, rising up the English football pyramid to the Premier League by 2005), the fortunes of Orrell R.U.F.C. could not have been more different. Dave Whelan and Maurice Lindsay decided to invest heavily in the club, with the aim of having the club play in rugby union's Guinness Premiership at the then-JJB Stadium. After failing to win 2004's National Division Two, Whelan pulled a large amount of investment from the club, to a more modest GB£30,000 a year. This was the beginning of Orrell's demise, as players left during the summer of that year and the club were consequently relegated the season after. Ownership eventually passed from Lindsay back to the club's members, but by this point, Orrell had sold their former Edge Hall Road ground to Dave Whelan's company, Whelco Holdings, and therefore had no assets apart from their rebuilt clubhouse following a fire in 2002. Orrell never settled at the JJB Stadium, and were eventually de-professionalised at the end of the 2006–07 season.^[14][15]

On 7 March 2005 Greater Manchester police announced that they would stop policing Wigan Athletic matches at the stadium from 2 April. This move would almost certainly have resulted in the stadium's safety certificate being revoked, effectively forcing the team to play behind closed doors. The move was part of an ongoing dispute between the police force and Dave Whelan surrounding GB£300,000 in unpaid policing costs. The police's decision would not have affected Wigan Warriors, whose games are stewarded instead of policed. The situation was temporarily resolved on 8 March with both sides reaching an agreement that would allow Athletic to play at the ground until the end of the season. Four months later, Wigan Athletic, facing the prospect of playing their home games in the Premier League in an empty stadium, grudgingly paid the money they owed to the police. The club successfully appealed against the payments in court and won damages from the police.^[16]

On 10 November 2007 JJB Stadium was the venue for the last ever game of the Great Britain national rugby league team, a 28 - 22 victory over New Zealand.

On 7 September 2008, Wigan Warriors revealed plans to take their Super League Play-Off against Bradford Bulls to a neutral venue.^[17] The controversial relocation was forced due to a fixture clash, with a match between football clubs Wigan Athletic and Sunderland to take place less than 24 hours after the Super League match.^[18][19] Whelan, who controlled Wigan Athletic, refused permission for the Warriors to stage their elimination at the stadium, citing concerns over the playing surface.^[20] The game was relocated to Widnes Vikings home ground, the Stobart Stadium.^[19] In the same season, JJB Sports announced they would not continue to sponsor the Wigan Warriors, leaving them without a main shirt sponsor.^[21][22]

The stadium's average attendance has increased significantly since its opening in 1999. The Wigan Warriors' average attendance has increased by 32.5% from its first full season at the stadium in 2000, and Wigan Athletic's average attendance has increased by 181.2% from the 2000–01 season. The highest recorded attendance for a rugby league match is shared between three fixtures; the Wigan Warriors' fixture against St Helens RLFC on 25 March 2005; Game 4 of the 2005 Tri-Nations series between Great Britain and Australia on 6 November; and Game 5 of the 2004 Tri-Nations series between Great Britain and Australia on 13 November at 25,004 each.^[23][24][25] The highest recorded football attendance at the stadium was Wigan Athletic's home fixture against Manchester United on 11 May 2008—the final day of the 2007–08 Premier League season—with 25,133 fans attending.^[7] This is the stadium's highest recorded overall attendance to date, and was the match where Manchester United were crowned Premier League champions for that season.^[8]

The eastern 'Boston Stand'

In March 2009, Dave Whelan acquired a chain of fitness clubs from JJB Sports. In the process, Whelan used the business to set up a new venture, DWSportsfitness and announced that the stadium name would change to the DW Stadium in August.^[26] Whelan also announced that at the same time the stadium was renamed, its ownership would pass from himself to Wigan Athletic.^[6] Concerns about the future of the Wigan Warriors were arrested in the same announcement, as Whelan extended the lease on the stadium by 50 years for the rugby league team.^[6] Before Wigan Warriors' match against Leeds Rhinos in July 2009, both clubs were given the opportunity to rename one stand, with the intention of renaming them in honour to a recognised player from each club's history. The rugby league club were granted the East Stand, which they renamed 'The Boston Stand' in tribute to the Welsh winger Billy Boston,^[27] As Wigan Athletic had spent many years in the lower leagues it was recognised that most of their players were not known at national level, so the West Stand was renamed 'The Springfield Stand' after the club's former ground.^[27]

Structure and facilities[link]

The stadium design is based on cantilevered, prefabricated steel roof and terrace structuring.^[1] It is an all-seater arena with a seating capacity of 24,826.^[1] The stands are rectangular and both the northern and southern stands have supporting steel girders suspended from beneath the roof. The four stands are of approximately the same height, however the stadium is not totally enclosed, leaving four exposed corners.^[28]

At both Wigan Athletic and Wigan Warriors matches, away supporters are situated in the North Stand behind the goal.^[2] Occasionally, during rugby games which attract low away support, the 5,418 capacity North Stand is closed altogether, and the away fans who attend are put into an alternative stand.^[1][29] The eastern stand, known as 'The Boston Stand', and the western 'Springfield Stand' run across the longer sides of the pitch. The Boston Stand is the largest, capable of seating up to 8,238 fans and holding an electronic scoreboard.^[1] The Springfield Stand contains the stadium's vital facilities; four dressing rooms, benches, a doping control room and a treatment room for the players, as well as four executive boxes, ten radio commentary points and a designated TV studio, in addition to holding 6,100 fans.^[1][30] The North Stand and South Stand have a seating capacity of 5,418 and 5,412 respectively.^[1] The stadium also has facilities and access for up to 278 fans with disabilities, with facilities for partially sighted fans.^[30] The seats are a mixture of both resident teams' main colours—red and blue. The stadium is fully compliant with safety guidelines for a sports ground.^[30]

The pitch is large enough to conform with both FIFA and the standard rugby league requirements, at 110 by 60 metres (120 × 66 yd). This leaves an in-goal area just 5 metres (5.5 yd) deep for rugby matches. It is mostly made of natural grass, with 2% of the pitch composed of synthetics to provide stability.^[1] The ground has irrigation, and an under-heating system to resist icy weather.^[1]

Attendances[link]

Wigan Warriors[link]

Wigan Warriors moved from Central Park to the stadium in 1999 after the end of Super League IV's regular season. Since moving to the new stadium, Wigan Warriors' success in rugby league has not been as high as it was at their old Central Park ground, however the good times do seem to be back for the club after they won the Super League Grand Final and League Leaders shield in 2010 under the guidance of coach Michael Maguire and chairman Ian Lenagan.

Attendances have generally risen for the Wigan Warriors since the start of the 2002 season, averaging around 14,000 over the three seasons from 2006 to 2009.^[43] Aside from Grand Finals, the largest Super League attendance was recorded at the stadium in 2005 when Wigan Warriors played their local rivals, St Helens RLFC.^[37]

This match is also the highest home attendance in the Wigan Warriors' history at the stadium. The twenty thousand mark has been broken ten times since moving to the new stadium in 1999—eight times against St Helens RLFC, once against local rivals Warrington Wolves in the opening round of the 2008 Super League XIII season, and once in July 2009 against the Leeds Rhinos following a campaign advertising the game as the 'Big One'.^[11][44] In 2010, the Warriors were officially the biggest supported team in the Super League.

Wigan Athletic F.C.[link]

Wigan Athletic's success has improved considerably since their move to the stadium from Springfield Park in 1999. Since 2000, Wigan Athletic have climbed up two divisions and now play in the Premier League.^[45]

Rising success on the pitch has been met with increased attendances. Promotion into the Premier League meant that in their first season of English top-flight football, Wigan Athletic's average home attendance almost doubled from the season before. Over three times more fans attended matches at the stadium during Wigan's 2007–08 season in the Premier League than had attended in the 2001–02 season when Wigan Athletic were in the Football League Second Division. Wigan Athletic's average home attendance for 2007–08 was the lowest out of all 20 teams in the Premier League, failing to make the top 30 English clubs in terms of attendance.^[48] The same season saw the highest ever attendance at the stadium, when 25,133 people witnessed Wigan play Manchester United on the final day of the season.^[7]

Wigan Athletic's average attendance was again the lowest in the league for the Premier League 2008–09 season.^[49] Premier League attendances fell on average by around 426 per club during the 2008–09 season. Wigan Athletic's home attendance fell by more than this, with their average attendance for the 2008–09 season falling by 633 from the season before.^[46] The highest attendance at the stadium for this season was a match between Wigan Athletic and Arsenal F.C., in which 22,954 people were counted. This attendance was 2,357 fans lower than the highest attendance in the season before.^[46][47] Despite the attendances being lower than other Premier League teams, Wigan Athletic's attendances in the top division have been consistently higher than the Wigan Warriors Super League team, affirming the elevation of "The Latics" as the dominant sporting presence in the town. ^[50]

• 

  Average and highest attendances for the Wigan Warriors at the stadium

• 

  Average and highest attendances for Wigan Athletic at the stadium since the 2000–01 season

Other events[link]

The final home Test for Great Britain against New Zealand, played at the stadium in 2007

The stadium's numerous lounges provide a venue for small musical acts to perform, and the stadium plays host to minor bands and tribute acts. They are also available to book for private parties.^[51] During match days, bands may provide pre-match entertainment on the pitch.

As well as the fixtures for the two domestic teams, the stadium is a venue for international rugby league. Since the stadium's construction in 1999, it has been an ever-present venue whenever the Rugby League Tri-Nations series has been played in England. Its first involvement came during the 2004 series, where the home Great Britain and Ireland national team defeated the Australians 24–12, with Terry Newton and Andy Farrell both scoring in their home town of Wigan.^[25] The venue was again selected for the 2005 series, and again the match was between Great Britain and Australia—this time the home team lost 6–20—with Greater Manchester born Adrian Morley scoring Great Britain's solitary try.^[24] Both matches were complete sell-outs, each having attendances above 25,000. The match in 2004 was the third highest attendance of the series, coming behind a match at the City of Manchester Stadium between Great Britain and Australia, and the series final between the same two teams at Elland Road.^[52]

In addition to the Tri-Nations, the stadium has also played host to visiting nations during their European tours. Australia played Great Britain in front of a sell-out crowd during the 2001 Kangaroo Tour, with the home side losing 8–28.^[53] Australia narrowly defeated Great Britain again in 2003 at the stadium, winning by a margin of four points during their 2003 European Tour.^[54] New Zealand have also played at the stadium during their tours. In 2002, a try scored in his home town by Martin Gleeson helped Great Britain to defeat the 'Kiwis' 16–10.^[55] The visitors lost again during their 2007 tour, this time 28–22 in a closely fought game in which Wigan-born second-rower Sean O'Loughlin featured.^[56]

The stadium is yet to host a Rugby League World Cup fixture, even though the event in 2000 was hosted by other English venues including Barrow Raiders' New Craven Park, St Helens RLFC's Knowsley Road and Leeds Rhinos' Headingley Stadium.^[57] The stadium has hosted the World Club Challenge twice, in 2000, between St Helens and the Melbourne Storm and in 2011 when Wigan took on St. George Illawarra Dragons.^[58]

Surroundings[link]

The Wigan skyline, featuring the then-JJB Stadium

The stadium's surroundings are mostly urban, as it is located in the north of Wigan's Robin Park retail complex in the western suburb of Newtown, on the south bank of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, west of the Miry Lane industrial estate. The stadium's car parks are situated around the canal, and can hold up to 2,500 cars.^[1]

Next to the stadium's South Stand lies the Robin Park Arena,^[59] which is operated by Wigan Sports Development Unit and is capable of seating 1,000 spectators.^[60] The arena is mainly used for athletics, as well as functions for: North West Counties Football League side Wigan Robin Park,^[61] and Wigan Athletic Reserves. The arena was formerly used by the Wigan Warriors' junior academy, before they moved to Edge Hall Road to join the reserve side.^[62][63] Robin Park Sports Centre is situated directly opposite the Stadium and Arena.^[59]

The main road serving the complex is the A49, running west-bound 750 metres (820 yd) south of the stadium.^[64][65] Both of Wigan's railway stations, Wigan Wallgate and Wigan North Western lie 1.3–1.6 kilometres (0.8–1.0 mi) east of the stadium.^[66]

See also[link]

• List of English football stadia by capacity
• List of English rugby league stadia by capacity

Notes[link]

^A Wigan Warriors played one match in 1999 at the new stadium after moving from their former Central Park ground—an elimination play-off match against the Castleford Tigers.

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: DW Stadium

• Official website
• Stadium Guide Article

Paul Scharner

Personal information
Full name	Paul Josef Herbert Scharner[1]
Date of birth	(1980-03-11) 11 March 1980 (age 32)
Place of birth	Scheibbs, Austria
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[2]
Playing position	Central defender, Midfielder
Club information
Current club	free agent
Youth career
1987–1993	SVG Purgstall
1993–1996	VSE St. Pölten
1996–1998	Austria Wien
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1998–2004	Austria Wien	84	(3)
2004	SV Salzburg	18	(3)
2004–2006	Brann	32	(7)
2006–2010	Wigan Athletic	145	(14)
2010–2012	West Bromwich Albion	61	(7)
National team‡
1995	Austria U16	2	(0)
1997–1998	Austria U18	7	(0)
2000–2001	Austria U21	12	(5)
2002–	Austria	32	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:09, 8 May 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:21, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

Paul Josef Herbert Scharner (born 11 March 1980) is an Austrian footballer who currently is on free agent. He usually plays as a central defender or midfielder. He is noted for his positional flexibility having played every outfield position for Wigan except left back.^[3]

Club career[link]

Early career in Austria[link]

In the Austrian Bundesliga, Scharner played for Austria Wien and SV Salzburg, before joining Norwegian club SK Brann in 2004.

Brann[link]

Scharner was voted player of the year by the Brann fans in 2005, and one of the best players on all the major player rankings in Norwegian newspapers and TV channels in 2005. All together, his time in Norway was very successful, and soon, clubs from bigger leagues were keen to sign him.

Wigan Athletic[link]

Scharner signed a 3.5 year deal with Wigan Athletic on 22 December 2005, and joined the squad after the holidays. Wigan agreed a fee of £2,500,000 (€3,700,000, 29,500,000 NOK), making it the biggest transfer in SK Brann's history.^[4]

In his first match for Wigan, Scharner scored the winning goal against Arsenal in the Carling Cup at the JJB Stadium.^[5] He went on to start in the final for Wigan that season, a 4-0 defeat to Manchester United.^[6]

On 22 March 2009, he became the first Wigan player to play 100 Premier League games, playing an outstanding 77 minutes in a 1-0 win at home to Hull City.^[7]

On 30 August 2009, he scored his first goal of the season against Everton. After a 5–0 defeat to Manchester United, Wigan manager Roberto Martinez preferred to use Scharner in an attacking midfield role. Scharner was a part of the team in November 2009 that lost against Tottenham 9–1, scoring Wigan's only goal in the fixture although when controlling the ball prior to shooting, he appeared to handball it.^[8] On 19 April 2010, he announced his decision to leave Wigan Athletic at the end of the 2009–10 season.^[9]

West Brom[link]

On 30 August, Scharner joined West Brom on a two-year deal, having been a free agent since his release by Wigan.^[10] Teammate James Morrison has since praised his performances, saying that although Scharner is "a weirdo", has made a positive impact on the team.^[11] He made the switch to West Brom with the intent of no longer playing in central defence when manager Roberto Martinez told him he will be used as a midfielder.

Scharner has found his best form for Albion playing in his more favoured role of central midfield alongside Youssouf Mulumbu, scoring 4 goals, including the winner in the 3-2 away win vs Sunderland.

On 21 December 2011, Scharner scored an 85th minute goal at Newcastle to secure a 3-2 victory^[12] and the Baggies first league win at St. James' Park since 1977.^[13] He scored his fourth Premier League goal of the season in a 1-1 draw with former club Wigan on 17 March 2012, denting the Latics' hopes for Premier League survival.^[14]

After not meeting a clause in his contract that would trigger a 12 month extension, Scharner announced on 8 May that he would be leaving West Brom in the summer and search for a new challenge.^[15]

International career[link]

Scharner retired from playing international football for his country after falling out with the Austrian FA (ÖFB). He labelled the set-up a shambles and blamed the unprofessional set-up of the national FA as the reason behind his decision.

In 2008 he showed interest in returning to the Austrian squad, and also had a personal meeting with head coach Josef Hickersberger regarding a possible return, but did not show up in the Austrian 31-player pre-selection for Euro 2008. Scharner made his comeback under the new coach Karel Brückner in August 2008. On 12 October 2010, Scharner was sent off for violent conduct during the second half of the 4–4 away draw against Belgium in a Euro 2012 qualifier.^[16] Despite his impressive premier league goal scoring record for moderate teams, he still has not found the net for his country.

Statistics[link]

National team statistics[link]

Honours[link]

Austria Wien

• Austrian Football Bundesliga (1): 2003
• Austrian Cup (1): 2003

SK Brann

• Norwegian Cup (1): 2004

Wigan Athletic

• League Cup Runner up: 2006

References[link]

External links[link]

• Paul Scharner career stats at Soccerbase
• Official site (German)
• Player profile – Austria Archive
• Career stats – National Football Teams
• BBC Sport profile of Paul Scharner

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2009)

Dean Parrish (born Phil Anastasi,^[1] or alternatively Phil Anastasia^[2] circa 1942) is an American soul singer from New York, best known for the song, "I'm On My Way", which became famous for being the last record that was played at Northern Soul all-nighters at the Wigan Casino.

Career[link]

Anastasi was born to Italian and Spanish parents and was raised in Little Italy, New York. He lived by the train lines in Brooklyn. Anastasi sang second tenor in a street corner doo-wop group and attended the School of Industrial Arts. He was spotted by the same manager who looked after The Mystics and The Passions who tried to convince Anastasi to go from second tenor to lead/solo singer.

The Peppermint Lounge was New York's premier nightclub in the very early 1960s. Anastasi frequented the establishment and would eventually appeared on the bill. On the advice of The Ronettes lead singer Ronnie Spector, he changed his name to Dean Parrish, and began his own recording career in 1964.

He signed a recording contract with the Laurie record label. Between 1964 and 1967 Parrish recorded for four major U.S. labels Laurie, Warner Bros., Musicor Records and Boom.

Parrish achieved some success with his soul singles "I'm On My Way", "Tell Her", "Determination", "Skate" and "Bricks, Broken Bottles and Sticks".^[3] He toured on Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars, appearing alongside such leading luminaries as Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, The Capitols and Lou Christie; he even appeared on a Motown revue bill with The Supremes. However, his singing career began to fade.

In 1967 Parrish reverted to his original name, and became an actor, who began to appear on television and in films. He kept his hand in musically by playing guitar with Herbie Mann, and sometimes as frontman for The Rosecrucians and Steeplechase. He worked as a session musician with Jimi Hendrix and Santana in 1970, and played guitar with Bob Marley in 1972.

The Northern soul scene had taken a firm hold in the nightclubs of mid 1970s in the United Kingdom where rare American soul music recordings were played. Parrish's recording of "I'm On My Way" came to the attention of Russ Winstanley, a disc jockey at the Wigan Casino. He began playing the gramophone record and it soon became one of the more popular records at the venue. It was re-released in 1975 on the UK Records label, and sold around 200,000 copies. The track reached #38 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1975.^[1] It has consequently gone on to sell over a million copies^{[citation needed]}. Interest in Parrish's mid 1960s recording career began to gain in popularity but Parrish himself remained completely unaware of his popularity on the other side of the Atlantic.

He had changed his name back to Phil Anastasi and no one had been able to track him, with his former U.S. US labels no longer in touch with him. However, in 2001, Parrish contacted Winstanley, and he made his first trip to the UK, some thirty years since his last concert performance.^[2] Parrish found himself performing in front of thousands at a Prestatyn, Wales based Northern soul weekend. More trips to Europe followed as well as a growing number of acting roles.

Parrish met up with Paul Weller's guitarist and Ocean Colour Scene member, Steve Cradock. Craddock was a friend of Winstanely's and handed Parrish "Left Right and Centre", a song Weller had composed at the age of fifteen. Parrish recorded the song with Lord Large in 2006. Back in New York he recruited some of his old friends (including members of Santana) and came up with a new single, a cover version of Timi Yuro's, "It'll Never Be Over for Me", his first solo single for 41 years. His first ever album, Determination - The Northern Soul Sound of Dean Parrish, was due to be released in 2008.

Under the name 'Philip J. Anastasia', he appeared as an emcee in an episode of The Sopranos.^[2]

I'm On My Way – The Dean Parrish Story was broadcast on Saturday 12 January 2008 on BBC Radio 2. Billed as 'The Northern Soul star sold over one million records, but barely received a penny for his work. Pete Mitchell travels to New York to track down Parrish, revealing a remarkable story that takes in The Sopranos and Jimi Hendrix along the way.'^[2]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Dean Parrish official website
• IMDb page for Philip Anastasia aka Dean Parrish

David Shillington

Personal information
Nickname	Shillo[1]
Born	(1983-06-24) 24 June 1983 (age 29) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Height	194 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	114 kg (17 st 13 lb)
Playing information
Position	Prop, Second-row, Lock
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
2005–08	Sydney Roosters	73	5	0	0	20
2009–	Canberra Raiders	53	3	0	0	12
	Total	126	8	0	0	32
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
2009–10	Queensland	4	0	0	0	0
2009–11	Australia	7	0	0	0	0
2010	NRL All Stars	1	0	0	0	0
As of 14 June 2011
Source: Yesterday's Hero, [1]

David Shillington (born 24 June 1983 in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Canberra Raiders of the National Rugby League (NRL). A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative prop forward, he previously played for the Sydney Roosters club.

Biography[link]

Shillington attended Padua College, Brisbane.

Sydney Roosters[link]

He started his NRL career playing for the Sydney Roosters from 2005 until 2008. He was thought to be eligible to represent France for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.^[2] On The Footy Show Brad Fittler asked him whether he was eligible to represent France and he stated that he wasn't, it was a rumour started by Lopini Paea but Shillington did say he has French bloodlines.

Shillington signed a 4-year deal with the Canberra Raiders starting in 2009.^[3][4]

Canberra Raiders[link]

In April 2009, he was named in the preliminary 25 man squad to represent Queensland in the opening State of Origin match for 2009.^[5] He did not make an appearance for the Maroons until the 3rd game of the series though.

At the end of the 2009 season Shillington was selected as part of the Australian squad that travelled to Europe for the 2009 Four Nations tournament. He made his debut against England.

In December, 2009, Shillington was arrested for drink driving after testing more than twice the legal limit.^[6]

Shillington was named the winner of the Mal Meninga Medal as the Raiders' player of the year for 2010.^[7]

In 2010 he was selected in the Australian test team to play New Zealand in April^[8]

In 2011, Shillington was picked in the Australia V New Zealand test played in Newcastle playing off the Bench, before heading to Great Britain for the 2011 Four Nations tournament in England and Wales. For the first two games (VS New Zealand & England), Shillington played off the bench wearing the number 16,but in the game VS Wales, he will start at prop (number 8). When Australia played New Zealand in England, Isaac Luke (New Zealand hooker) came in late on Shillington's legs which looked like it would end his Four Nations tournament. He was in doubt played against England at Wembley but did play.

References[link]

External links[link]

• http://www.foxsports.com.au/league/player?id=107749&name=david-shillington&team=55004
• http://www.raiders.com.au/default.aspx?s=player-profile-display&id=486&player=david-shillington&team=Raiders
• http://www.raiders.com.au/default.aspx?s=article-display&id=42239&title=shillington-praises-extra-efforts
• http://www.raiders.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=42030&title=shillington-named-raiders-‘black-dog’-ambassador
• http://www.raiders.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=41767&title=replay-shillington's-live-chat-with-fans
• http://www.raiders.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=41739&title=shillington-nominated-for-the-ken-stephen-medal
• http://www.raiders.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=38867&title=david-shillington---raiders-tv-extra
• http://www.raiders.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=38829&title=shillington-a-raider-until-2015
• http://www.raiders.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=36209&title=shillington:-we-need-strike-fear-at-home
• http://www.nrl.com/telstrapremiership/playerstats/playerprofile/tabid/10898/clubid/2/playerid/329/seasonid/7/default.aspx

Dale Williams (born 25 February 1987) is a former Welsh football player.

Beginning his career as a trainee with Yeovil Town, Williams played just four minutes for the Somerset club, after coming on for Arron Davies in the 0–0 draw against Colchester United on 6 May 2006, the last day of the 2005–06 season.

Williams signed for Shrewsbury on 25 May 2006, and made his Shrews debut in the 2006-07 opener against Mansfield Town, which finished 2–2. He came on as a susbtitute for Dave Edwards in the final minute.

Williams was called up to the Wales U21s alongside Edwards and Davies for the UEFA U21 Championship qualifier against Israel on 16 August 2006. However, Williams was not selected to play.

Williams made three substitute appearances for Shrewsbury before being released from his contract on 31 January 2007. Upon leaving Shrewsbury, he was expected to trial with Kidderminster Harriers.^[1]

During November 2007, he played several games for Waikato FC in the New Zealand Football Championship.^[2] In July 2008 he signed for Welshpool Town.

Dale was forced to retire from the game due to medical reasons in 2008.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Dale Williams career stats at Soccerbase

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