Adam Woolnough (born 24 May 1982) is an Australian former professional

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 11 ...

footballer. Woolnough played as a for nine seasons at the

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrit ...

and the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...

in the NRL.

Background

Woolnough was born in Taree, New South Wales, Australia. He was educated at

Taree High School , motto_translation = May your Sons and Daughters Crown the River , established = , type = Government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school , educational_authority = NSW Department of Education , district = Ta ...

and was 1999 Australian Schoolboys representative.

Playing career

Woolnough made his debut in 2002 for his junior club

. This game was against

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 17 May coincidentally his mother's birth date. After six seasons (including one as captain) and 117 games, Woolnough made the decision to leave and head to the

on a 3-year deal. After two injury and form ravaged seasons, the 2009 NRL season was supposed to be his last. Woolnough announced his retirement on 19 August 2009, effective of his final 2009 NRL game, which was against his old club

in Round 26, 2009. However, after a year out travelling with his partner, Woolnough returned to the NRL in 2011. This was made possible by a chance meeting with former teammate,

Clint Newton Clint Newton (born June 18, 1981) is an American former international rugby league footballer who played as a and . He played for the Newcastle Knights, Melbourne Storm and Penrith Panthers in the NRL, Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super Leagu ...

in the UK. Newton was playing for

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England, that competes in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league. The club has won five league championships, and one Challen ...

, when the conversation turned to the

. From this conversation, Woolnough spoke with Melbourne head coach

Craig Bellamy Craig Douglas Bellamy (born 13 July 1979) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a forward and is current assistant manager at EFL Championship side Burnley. Born in Cardiff, Bellamy began his senior playing career with Norw ...

, about the possibility of joining Melbourne for the

2011 NRL season The 2011 NRL season was the 104th season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the fourteenth and last run by the National Rugby League's partnership committee of the Australian Rugby League and News Ltd. The N ...

. Woolnough later signed in July 2010 at a Paris hotel, but was encouraged to complete his trip before reporting to training in October 2010.

Newcastle Rugby League

In 2012, Woolnough played for

Lakes United Lakes United is a rugby league club based in the Newcastle, New South Wales region of Australia. Known as ''The Seagulls'' and wearing Royal blue and Gold, they have been a member of the Newcastle Rugby League since 1947. History Lakes United ...

Newcastle Rugby League The Newcastle Rugby League is a local rugby league football competition in Newcastle, Australia. It is one of the oldest rugby league competitions in Australia, founded in 1910. A Newcastle representative team was also assembled from players in ...

Team.

Post Rugby League career

Upon retirement, Woolnough worked in the underground coal mines near

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. Woolnough was employed for over three years until a desire to return to the sporting industry come about. In 2015, Woolnough was employed at The Queensland Academy of Sport, working with their World and Olympic athlete in Personal Development (Career and Education, Welfare, Transitions, Community Engagements) In 2022, Woolnough returned to rugby league, appointed by

NRL Victoria NRL Victoria (abbreviated as NRLVic, and formerly the Victorian Rugby League) is responsible for administering the game of rugby league in the Australian state of Victoria. Victoria is an Affiliated State of the overall Australian governing body t ...

as coach of the Victoria Thunderbolts

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 Easte ...

team.

Career highlights

* ''First Grade Debut:'' 2002 - Round 10, Newcastle vs

EnergyAustralia Stadium Newcastle International Sports Centre, known as McDonald Jones Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose sports stadium located in Newcastle, Australia. The ground is home to the Newcastle Knights (National Rugby League) and Newca ...

, 17 May * 155 NRL games over 9 seasons with Newcastle Knights, Penrith Panthers, Melbourne Storm. * Member of Prime Minister's XIII team to tour PNG in 2006.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woolnough, Adam 1982 births Living people Australian rugby league players Lakes United Seagulls players Melbourne Storm players Newcastle Knights captains Newcastle Knights players Penrith Panthers players Prime Minister's XIII players Rugby league players from Taree Rugby league props Western Suburbs Rosellas players Windsor Wolves players