Super League’s one-game wonders including Leeds CEO, Origin icon and Castleford trio
Our XIII of players with one Super League appearance on their CV - including Dean Bell (left)
Quiz question at the ready: Which players played just one game in Super League during their careers?
No, not Lee Sharpe, Neil Armstrong or the surname Smith. There are over 200 possible answers to that question as things stand, including some youngsters still on the books of Super League clubs today.
We’ve not included very many of them at all, so this is more of a walk down memory lane that’ll (hopefully) leave you feeling nostalgic.
Here’s our all-time 13 of one-appearance Super League wonders…
1. Bailey Hodgson
Don’t worry, Hodgson is the only current Super League player in this team, but he is still eligible as things stand. Having come through the youth system at Castleford, he made just one senior appearance for the Tigers before heading Down Under.
That sole game in Super League came in a 38-24 win against Hull KR in October 2020, a match played behind closed doors during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The 22-year-old is now back in the British game with Leigh following a couple of seasons with Newcastle Knights’ second-grade side, but is yet to make his Leopards debut. When he does, which you’d wager in 2025, he’ll become ineligible for this side.
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2. Sosaia Feki
Two-time Tonga international Feki, now 33, arrived at Castleford ahead of the 2020 season having made 148 NRL appearances for Cronulla Sharks.
Injury limited him to just one appearance in his debut season with the Tigers, but that came in the Challenge Cup. He then ruptured his achilles tendon in pre-season and missed the entire 2021 season, only featuring once in Super League in August 2022 off the bench in a 20-12 defeat away against St Helens.
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3. Greg Worthington
34-year-old Worthington is now with Barrow Raiders and has made close to 200 appearances in the Championship to date in a career which has spanned almost 15 years.
Just one of his 266 senior career appearances to date came in Super League though, featuring off the bench for Toronto Wolfpack in a 32-22 defeat away against Warrington Wolves in February 2020 just before the COVID-19 Pandemic struck and the Canadian outfit withdrew themselves from the competition.
4. Dean Bell
Bell, a 28-time Kiwi international, featured in the British game for Carlisle, Wigan and Leeds prior to the summer era. But having taken charge of the Rhinos as their head coach in 1996, he put himself on the teamsheet and made a sole Super League appearance, scoring a try in a 34-12 win against Paris Saint-Germain at Headingley in July that year!
The 62-year-old eventually dropped down into a Head of Academy role at Headingley the following year, and has gone on to hold numerous roles in the sport including the Football Manager for New Zealand’s national team.
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5. Rob Worrincy
Leeds-born Worrincy made almost 350 senior appearances during his career, including over 200 in the Championship, but only one came in Super League and that was the very first! The winger’s first-team bow came for Castleford in a 44-18 defeat to Bradford at Odsal in May 2004.
20 years on, Worrincy is now 39 and has recently donned a shirt for the Great British Police team, but received a three-year ban from the sport midway through the 2023 campaign from the UK Anti-Doping Agency.
6. Kevin Walters
15-time Kangaroos international Walters, who also represented Queensland in State of Origin, arrived at Warrington ahead of the 2001 season and played four games for the Wolves in total. Three though came in the Challenge Cup, with his only game in Super League being a 34-6 defeat to Wigan at the then-known JJB Stadium in March 2001.
With his family struggling to settle in England, half-back Walters – now 57 – returned Down Under before the year was out and has gone on to coach Brisbane Broncos and Queensland as well as Catalans Dragons back in Super League.
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7. Dane Chisholm
New South Wales-born Chisholm, who featured four times for France via his heritage, spent the vast majority of his career in the British game. After a single NRL appearance for Melbourne Storm, and numerous seasons playing at second-grade level Down Under, the 34-year-old was loaned to Hull KR from Canterbury Bulldogs towards the end of the 2015 season.
The back’s first appearance for the Robins, in July 2015, was his only one in Super League – featuring in the final ‘regular’ game of the campaign, a 52-12 defeat at St Helens. Having also enjoyed a stint in rugby union with Sydney-based outfit Manly Marlins prior, he then featured in The Qualifiers for KR, but games in those didn’t count towards Super League appearance tallies.
8. Luke Menzies
Menzies’ only Super League appearance also came in a Hull KR shirt, taking to the field at Craven Park off the bench in a 20-4 win against Castleford in March 2008. Seven years on, he then made a sole appearance for Salford against the Robins, but that came in The Qualifiers, so again, it didn’t count towards his Super League appearance tally.
Donning a shirt for nine different clubs in total, the forward is now 36 and last played for Halifax Panthers in 2015. He has since gone on to become a professional wrestler! Known in the ring as ‘Ridge Holland’, Menzies has been contracted to WWE since May 2018 and won the NXT Tag Team Championship earlier this year, holding the title alongside Andre Chase for 19 days.
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9. Liam Bostock
Bostock made a total of four senior appearances as a player – but his first and second were six years apart! The first, his only Super League appearance, came for St Helens in a 54-8 defeat at Odsal against Bradford in April 2004. He then featured three times for Rochdale Hornets in the 2010 campaign, though all three of those games were in cup competitions.
With his 40th birthday coming up in February, Bostock has gone on to become a youth coach – holding roles with both St Helens at club level and Wales on the international front.
10. Craig Richards
Most of 54-year-old Richards’ playing career came before the dawn of the summer era, featuring for Bradford, Oldham, Workington Town and Featherstone Rovers. He was back with Oldham when Super League began, and it was the Roughyeds who his sole appearance in the current top flight came for, appearing in a 30-10 defeat at home against Bradford in May 1996.
Having represented Great Britain twice at under-21s level, the forward went on to feature for Hunslet and Batley Bulldogs before hanging up his boots. He has gone on to head up both St Helens and England’s women, returning to helm of the former – alongside Derek Hardman – ahead of the upcoming 2025 campaign.
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11. Ian Blease
Don’t scratch your eyes, that is Leeds’ current Sporting Director! Blease made over 300 appearances in his career, but like Richards above, most of those came pre-summer era. The versatile forward played just one Super League game – coming off the bench for Salford in a 48-12 defeat away against London Broncos in April 1997.
Departing to round off his career with hometown club Swinton Lions at the end of that year, Blease also represented Lancashire during his career. He will turn 60 on New Year’s Day, and has held numerous roles back with the Red Devils since 2016, only departing to take up his role at Leeds midway through the 2024 season.
12. Dane Manning
Manning, 35, is still in the game donning a shirt for Batley and has made 377 senior appearances to date. Almost 300 of those have come in the Championship, featuring over 200 times for the Bulldogs and more than 100 for Halifax, but his first-ever game in professional rugby league came in Super League for Leeds.
Featuring for the Rhinos in a 24-14 win against Hull KR at Headingley in July 2009, he would never be seen in Super League again, departing for Featherstone at the end of that season.
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13. Billy McGinty
Most of Glasgow-born McGinty’s 250+ career appearances came pre-summer era, representing Great Britain and Lancashire as well as Warrington, Wigan and Workington at club level. His sole Super League appearance, and the last game of his career, came for the Cumbrian side in a 62-0 drubbing at home against Saints in March 1996.
The versatile forward, who will turn 60 in December, went on to coach both Scotland and Workington as well as spending time in rugby union with three different sides – Worcester Warriors, Edinburgh Rugby and Tewkesbury.
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