Aaron Woods (born 13 March 1991) is an Australian
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 ...
forward who plays for the
St George Illawarra Dragons
The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint- ...
in the
NRL
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
.
He previously captained
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional Rugby league, rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a j ...
and played for the
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilita ...
and
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 ...
in the
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
. He has played at representative level for the
Prime Minister's XIII
Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PM's XIII, is the name of a representative rugby league team, comprising Australian players from National Rugby League clubs that did not qualify for the NRL Finals, or whose tea ...
,
NSW City Origin
The Sydney Rugby League team, known as the City Rugby League team, or Combined Sydney, or Sydney Firsts, or Sydney Capitals, is a representative rugby league team. From 2021, the men's team is to consist of players selected from the New South Wa ...
and
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
in the
State of Origin series
The State of Origin series is an annual best-of-three rugby league series between two Australian state representative sides, the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons.
Referred to as “Australian sport's greatest rivalry”, the ...
.
Early life
Woods was born in
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...
and was raised by his mother in an apartment above a newsagent on
Norton Street, Leichhardt
Norton Street is in the suburb of Leichhardt in Sydney, Australia. It is located 5 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the main commercial street in the suburb.
Norton Street contains a mix of residential buildi ...
. He has spoken of the influence of the women in his life. He said, "My dog is female, I was a mummy's boy and a nanna's boy, my aunties would bash me and pick on me like a young brother, my missus is strong and stable, my youngest sister is my biggest fan. They’ve all been great for me."
Woods played junior rugby league with Leichhardt Juniors and participated in the Balmain Tigers Development Program. He based his game on players
Jason Ryles
Jason Ryles (born 17 January 1979 in Wollongong, New South Wales) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australia national representative forward, ...
and
Ben Kennedy.
He attended
Holy Cross College, Ryde, and represented NSW Catholic Colleges when he was 17. In 2008, he played for the Australian schoolboys team.
![Aaron_Woods_2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Aaron_Woods_2009.jpg)
In 2009, Woods played for Wests Tigers'
Toyota Cup (Under-20s) team in their run to the Grand Final, but 2010 was mired by injury,
with his hamstring coming close to being torn completely off the bone.
However, before the start of the 2011 season, Ricky Stuart named him in a "Blues in Waiting" squad, for potential future
NSW State of Origin
The New South Wales rugby league team has represented the Australian state of New South Wales in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1907. Also known as the Blues due to their sky blue jerseys, the team competes in the ann ...
players.
He was described as one of, "the State's best crop of young talent."
Playing career
2011-12
Woods made his NRL debut for the Wests Tigers at the start of the 2011 season, the day after his 20th birthday. He came off the bench with 20 minutes remaining in the game against Canterbury. Woods later said, "It was a Monday night against a pretty handy side. It was unreal.
I’ll never forget running at
Andrew Ryan Andrew Ryan may refer to:
* Andrew Ryan (''BioShock''), a character in the 2007 video game ''BioShock''
*Andrew Ryan (rugby league) (born 1978), Australian rugby league player
* Andrew Ryan (diplomat) (1876–1949), British diplomat
*Andrew Ryan (a ...
and
Corey Payne
Corey Payne (born 7 May 1984 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. Payne played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, the St George Illawarra D ...
, thinking gee this is the NRL. I got up thinking far out, that was a good hit. But after that the nerves were gone."
Woods scored a try in his 4th appearance. He was a regular in the first-grade team throughout the year, mostly starting from the bench. His first season form was described as, "impressive," and, "one of the few constants in an erratic Wests Tigers' NRL season."
He was named the club's rookie of the year.
![Sarah Callaway, Aaron Woods](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Sarah_Callaway%2C_Aaron_Woods.jpg)
With the departure of
Bryce Gibbs and
Todd Payten
Todd Payten (born 18 January 1979) is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL and former professional rugby league footballer.
As a player he played as a and forward for ...
, Woods became a starting prop at the start of 2012 season. After seven weeks, Woods made his senior representative debut with
City Origin
The Sydney Rugby League team, known as the City Rugby League team, or Combined Sydney, or Sydney Firsts, or Sydney Capitals, is a representative rugby league team. From 2021, the men's team is to consist of players selected from the New South Wa ...
. Coach
Brad Fittler
Bradley Scott Fittler (born 5 February 1972), also known by the nickname of "Freddy", is the head coach of the New South Wales State of Origin team, a commentator and a television presenter. Fittler has previously coached the Sydney Roosters i ...
said of his performance, "I thought he was the best prop on the field. I'm sure he'll build from this, and whether it's this year or next year, he looks like someone who can make the step up."
Woods was named as a standby player for
NSW
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
in the first two State of Origin matches of 2012, to cover for any late injuries. It was commented in the press that he had, "arguably been the form front-rower of the competition so far." Over the season he made 377 runs for 3455 metres and made 808 tackles, placing him near the best in the NRL in yardage, and in the top twenty in tackles made. He was one only 3 Wests Tigers players to appear in every game throughout the season, and was named the club's Player of the Year. At the end of the year he was nominated for Prop of the Year at the
Dally M
The Dally M Awards are the official annual player awards for the National Rugby League competition. As well as honouring the player of the year, who received the Dally M Medal, awards are also given to the premier player in each position, the b ...
awards.
Steve Roach later said, "He virtually carried them
he Tigerslast year, when Galloway was injured. I reckon, along with
James Tamou
James Tamou (born 13 December 1988) is an Australia international professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League.
He previously played for the North Queensland Cowboys and was ...
, he's the best ball-running front-rower in the comp."
2013
In 2013, Woods made his
State of Origin
A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...
debut in game two after
James Tamou
James Tamou (born 13 December 1988) is an Australia international professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League.
He previously played for the North Queensland Cowboys and was ...
was suspended for a drink-driving offence. He also played in the third game of the series, but saw limited time on the field in both matches. Playing for the Wests Tigers, Woods was averaging a high 60 minutes per game in an inexperienced front row, before succumbing to injury late in the season. Woods later signed a contract to remain with the Wests Tigers for a further three seasons.
2014
Despite a lucrative offer from
Manly, Woods say he was unable to leave Wests Tigers. "It was a mental thing. I love to be in the comfort zone, so I stayed here. Also, the Wests Tigers looked after me. I had a few injuries and they stuck by me; guess I was ready to give back what they gave to me."
Thought by some to be the form prop during the early NRL rounds, he was considered unlucky not to be selected in the
2014 ANZAC Test. Woods went on to be named as a starting prop for
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
in the 2014 State of Origin series. He was one of three NSW players to carry the ball 100 metres in game one, and then contributed to the team winning its first series in nine years.
Woods finished 2014 as the Tigers' leader in offloads and hitups, scoring a personal best 4 tries. In round 9, he co-captained the team for the first time with
Chris Lawrence. At the end of the season, Woods was again chosen to play for Prime Minister's XIII, scoring two tries, and was described as "the dominant player up the middle."
2015
In May, Woods was chosen as one of Australia's starting props in the Anzac Test. Despite Woods making, "plenty of metres" and having, "a strong work rate", the team suffered a comprehensive defeat. A third of the way through the season, Woods was averaging 215 metres a game, 50 more than the next best prop in the competition.
Woods was again chosen as a starting prop for NSW in the 2015 State of Origin series. Playing in a losing team in game one, he ran for 141 metres with the ball and made 41 tackles without a miss, with the Herald Sun asking, "Is there any doubting now he's the game's new top prop?" In the second game, he ran for a game-high 150 metres and brushed past opponent
Matt Scott to score a try in the second half that saw NSW take a match-winning lead. Although not awarded the Man of the Match, he was given 3 Dally M points for being rated the best player on the field, momentarily placing him first on the Dally M leader-board. However, in the third match, Woods was criticised for conceding too many penalties in the Blues series-deciding loss.
Despite missing games due to State of Origin and injury, Woods was in the competition's top 20 players for hit-ups and yardage and was named at prop in the NRL website's team of the year. In the absence of
Robbie Farah
Robert Peter Farah ( ar, روبي فرح) (born 23 January 1984) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international, Lebanese international and captain of New South Wales Blues t ...
, Woods captained Wests Tigers in 4 matches, all of which were losses. Woods capped off the season with the Dally M Prop of the Year award and finished runner up in the Dally M Player of the Year to
Johnathan Thurston
Johnathan Dean Thurston (born 25 April 1983) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League (NRL). Thurston was an Australian international, Queensland State of Origin and Indigenous All ...
.
2016
Woods succeeded Farah as Wests Tigers captain from 2016. He claimed his leadership technique was to, "just remain calm. People ask how the captaincy has changed things for me but I'll never change my role in the side no matter what I have next to my name. We're all equal... I just do a little bit more talking at press conferences, man."
A "near certain" selection for the Anzac Test, Woods was unable to play after suffering ligament damage and bone bruising in his ankle in round 6. At the time, he was the competition's leader for metres gained with the ball. He returned in round 10 and was chosen for New South Wales. The Blues lost the first 2 games with Woods being very blunt when asked by Channel 9 commentators how he felt seeing Queensland win another series Woods said "It's shithouse," Woods told Channel Nine. "It's probably the best way to put it. We just let them off the hook again tonight like game one". Woods was described as, "The best prop on the ground in the first half with several strong carries. The only NSW forward to run 100 metres," in game 2. He had the most metres for any forward on the ground when NSW won the third game of the series.
Making 19 appearances for Wests Tigers, he was the club's leader in hit ups, and had a club-high average of 160 metres per game in attack. At year's end, he was chosen in the Australian squad for the
Four Nations, but was absent from the test against New Zealand due to his wedding. Coach
Mal Meninga
Malcolm Norman Meninga (; born 8 July 1960) is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Australian national team and a former professional rugby league footballer. Meninga is widely regarded as one of the fin ...
said, "The timing is not perfect but family comes first and you’ve got to keep the wives happy don’t you?" He was the starting prop in all four Four Nations matches, which were all victories.
2017
In March and April, Woods, alongside Tigers fullback
James Tedesco
James Tedesco (born 8 January 1993), nicknamed "Teddy", is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and captains the Sydney Roosters in the NRL, New South Wales rugby league team and Australia.
He previously played for the Wests ...
and Tigers halves
Luke Brooks and
Mitchell Moses
Mitchell Moses (Arabic: ميتشل موسى; born 16 September 1994) is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. He also plays for the Lebanon national team.
He previously played for the Wests ...
, attracted media speculation about where the players, dubbed the "Big Four" would play after all of their contracts with the Tigers were set to expire at season's end. With Woods linked to the
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilita ...
, the Wests Tigers imposed a deadline for Woods to re-sign by 21 April. When Woods' manager did not respond by the cut-off, the Wests Tigers contract offer was withdrawn. Wests Tigers CEO Justin Pascoe said, "We're really comfortable with the fact that we afforded the players every opportunity that we could to stay at the club."
Before the Wests Tigers' next match, which was against Canterbury, Woods was booed by sections of the crowd before the game, but was awarded the man of the match for his performance. Soon after he signed a four-year deal with the Canterbury club. Woods later said, "I’m not proud of how things went down. At the time I thought what I was doing was right, but looking back I should’ve handled things differently. I was the captain of the Wests Tigers. I grew up around the corner from Leichhardt Oval. I lost sight of what that meant and the responsibility I had continuing the legacy of the guys that came before me."
On 30 July, Woods scored his first try of the year as Wests defeated Gold Coast 26–4.
2018
Woods made his debut for Canterbury in their round 1 loss against Melbourne. Following the game, Woods was mocked on social media and by current players for his new haircut. His trademark flowing locks were replaced by a bob hairstyle which prompted some cutting remarks. Woods was initially surprised by all the attention and told the media "I copped a bit of flack during the week, There was Dora The Explorer, that Lord Farquaad bloke (from Shrek). It was a haircut gone wrong ... but I have to move on; the best way was to shave it off. Everyone is worrying about the hair. I am worrying about playing good footy for the Bulldogs".
![Aaron Woods Sharks](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Aaron_Woods_Sharks.jpg)
Woods was not selected by NSW coach
Brad Fittler
Bradley Scott Fittler (born 5 February 1972), also known by the nickname of "Freddy", is the head coach of the New South Wales State of Origin team, a commentator and a television presenter. Fittler has previously coached the Sydney Roosters i ...
for the 2018 State of Origin series, ending a run of 14 straight games. Woods learned of his non-selection while sitting next to teammate
David Klemmer
David Klemmer (born 22 December 1993) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Wests Tigers in the NRL and Australia international level.
He previously played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the N ...
who had received a phone call from Fittler telling him he was in the team but Woods received none. On 26 June, Woods left the Canterbury-Bankstown club, through a mid year switch, to join 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 ...
. Later that day, his name was listed to face the
New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...
on his Cronulla debut. He had played 14 games for Canterbury for just 3 wins, with no points scored.
Woods would go on to make a total of 12 appearances for Cronulla in 2018 as the club reached the preliminary final but fell short of a grand final appearance losing to Melbourne.
2019
On 8 April 2019, Woods was ruled out for three months after suffering a fractured foot in Cronulla's round 4 loss against the
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 ...
.
He made his return in round 15 against his former club Canterbury-Bankstown, playing from the bench as Cronulla lost the match 14–12.
At the end of the
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
, Cronulla finished in 7th spot and qualified for the finals. Woods played in the club's elimination final defeat against Manly.
2020
Woods played 21 games for Cronulla in the
2020 NRL season as the club finished 8th and qualified for the finals. He played in Cronulla's elimination final loss against Canberra.
2021
On 3 June 2021, Woods was informed by the Cronulla outfit that his services would not be required beyond the end of the season. In October, he joined Cronulla's arch-rivals
St. George Illawarra for 2022.
2022
In round 1 of the
2022 NRL season, Woods made his club debut for
St. George Illawarra in their 28-16 victory over the
New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...
.
Woods played 19 games for the club throughout 2022 as they finished 10th on the table and missed the finals for a fourth straight season.
References
External links
Cronulla Sharks profileCanterbury Bulldogs profileNRL profile2017 RLWC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, Aaron
1991 births
Living people
Australia national rugby league team players
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players
New South Wales City Origin rugby league team players
New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players
Prime Minister's XIII captains
Rugby league players from Sydney
Rugby league props
St. George Illawarra Dragons players
Wests Tigers players