Aaron Raper (born 28 July 1971) is an Australian former

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. His position of choice was although he could also fill other spots in the team. Raper played in Australia for the

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league ...

and

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

and in England for the

Castleford Tigers The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England, that compete in the Super League, the top-level professional rugby league club competition in the Northern Hemisphere. The club have competed i ...

( Heritage № 758).

Background

Raper is known for being the son of rugby league immortal

Johnny Raper John William Raper (12 April 1939 – 9 February 2022) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach. Nicknamed "Chook", he was a lock-forward who earned a then-record of 33 Test caps in the Australia national team between ...

and the brother of former Cronulla Sharks head coach

Stuart Raper Stuart may refer to: Names *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile * Stuart (automobile) Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory Northe ...

Playing career

Raper was graded by the

Cronulla Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league ...

in 1989. He made his first grade debut in his side's 34−0 loss to the

Illawarra Steelers The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level rugby league competition from 1982 until 1998. On the 13th of December 1980, the ...

in round 21 of the 1990 season. Numerous injury problems, including a blood clot that prevented him playing a single game in first grade during the 1994 season, severely affected his career and prevented him from achieving the status predicted after a fine season with Cronulla in 1992. He also represented Australia at the 1995 World Cup, and was selected as an interchange player to represent New South Wales in one game of the

1997 State of Origin series The 1997 State of Origin series was the 16th year that the annual best-of-three series of interstate rugby league football matches between the Queensland and New South Wales representative teams was contested entirely under 'state of origin' selec ...

but did not take the field. At Parramatta, Raper was in the 1997 and 1998 sides which made the finals series. Raper's final first grade game in Australia was the infamous 1998 preliminary final against Canterbury. With Parramatta leading 18–2 with 10 minutes to play, it seemed the club was destined to meet Brisbane the following week in the decider but Canterbury managed to stage an incredible comeback and go on to win the match 32–20 in extra time. Raper then moved to England to play with Castleford and spent 3 seasons with the club before retiring at the end of 2001.

Post playing

As of 2010, Raper is the captain-coach of the

Collegians Collegians are an Australian rugby league football team based in Wollongong. The club are a part of Country Rugby League and compete in the Illawarra Rugby League premiership. Originally known as CBC Old Boys, the Club was founded in 1933. The ...

club in the

Illawarra Rugby League The Illawarra Rugby League is a rugby league competition in Wollongong, NSW. It is one of the oldest rugby league competitions in Australia, founded in 1911 with five clubs (Dapto, Helensburgh, Mount Keira, Unanderra and Wollongong). The area p ...

. He previously coached the Cronulla Sharks

Jersey Flegg Cup The Jersey Flegg Cup is a junior rugby league competition played in New South Wales, contested among teams made up of players aged 21 or under. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL), and is named for Easter ...

team and the

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...

Bulls.

References

1971 births Living people Australia national rugby league team players Australian rugby league players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Castleford Tigers players Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players New South Wales City Origin rugby league team players Parramatta Eels players

Aaron According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...

Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Sydney {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1970s-stub