Aiden Tolman (born 10 November 1988) is a former Australian 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 112 ...

footballer who last played as a 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 ...

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 played for 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. ...

and 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 ...

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 ...

has played at representative level for NSW Country.

Early life

Tolman was born in Kempsey,

New South Wales, Australia ) , 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 ...

. He was educated at

St Paul's College, Kempsey St Paul's College is an independent Roman Catholic co-educational secondary day school, located in West Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia. The school caters for students in Year 7 to Year 12. History St. Paul's College Kempsey was establis ...

and represented 2006 Australian Schoolboys. He has also played for the

Junior Kangaroos The Junior Kangaroos side represents Australia in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kangaroos, after the native marsupial of that name. Since 2019, they are an under-23 side, with players selected from the NRL. The ...

. Tolman played his junior football with the Smithtown Tigers and he has also played for the

Central Coast Storm The Central Coast Roosters, formerly Central Coast Centurions, are an Australian rugby league football club (previously known as the Rip or Storm) based in the Central Coast region in New South Wales. They competed in the New South Wales Cup ...

and the

Queensland Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by four ...

side,

Norths Devils The Northern Suburbs Devils, or North Brisbane Devils, or often simply referred to as Norths for short, are a rugby league club representing the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. The team colours are sky blue, navy blue and gold. They pl ...

Playing career

2008

Tolman made his first-grade debut for

against the

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...

round 6 Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere * Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the numbe ...

of the 2008 season. He has been compared to former Melbourne Storm player

Robbie Kearns Robbie Kearns (born 12 December 1971) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, and 2000s. An Australia international and New South Wales State of Origin representative forward, he played for the Cro ...

. In 2008 he was named the

rookie of the year.

2009

He played in the 2009 premiership against

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

. This premiership was later stripped in 2010 by the

due to the club's multiple and deliberate breaches of the salary cap between 2006-2010.

2011

On 18 May 2010, he signed for the

for three years. In round one of the 2011

season Tolman made his debut for the

against the

West Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional 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 joint-venture c ...

ANZ Stadium ANZ may refer to: People * Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician Banks * ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia ** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand ...

. Tolman finished the season with 21 appearances and six tries.

2012

In 2012, Tolman ended the season with 27 appearances and 3 tries. He achieved the coach's award for the club. Tolman played for Canterbury in the 2012 NRL Grand Final loss against his former club Melbourne at

2013

The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs re-signed Tolman for a further four years, through until the end of season 2017. For the second year in a row, Tolman once again received the coach's award from coach

Des Hasler Desmond John Hasler (born 16 February 1961) is an Australian professional rugby league coach, and a former professional rugby league footballer who played as and . He initially played for the Penrith Panthers, and then spent most of his playi ...

. Tolman finished the season with 25 appearances and a try.

2014

Tolman played in Canterbury's

2014 NRL Grand Final The 2014 NRL Grand Final was the concluding and premiership-deciding match of the 2014 NRL season. Played on the evening of Sunday 5 October 2014 at ANZ Stadium, the match was contested by the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Canterbury-Bankstown B ...

loss against the

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional 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 pla ...

. Tolman finished the season with 22 appearances and a try.

2015

Tolman played 21 games for Canterbury in the 2015 NRL season as the club qualified for the finals. Tolman played in both of Canterbury's finals matches as the club reached the second week but were eliminated by the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

2016

On 6 December 2016, Tolman re-signed with Canterbury which would see him at the club until 2020.

2017

On 27 May 2017, Tolman made 51 tackles, 17 hit ups for 148 running meters, and played 80 minutes, in round 12 against the

. Tolman made a total of 24 appearances for Canterbury-Bankstown in the

2017 NRL season The 2017 NRL season was the 110th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 20th season run by the National Rugby League. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, and was followed by the All Stars Match, w ...

as they failed to reach the finals for the first time since 2011.

2018

In 2018, Tolman made 16 appearances for Canterbury as the club endured one of its toughest seasons on the field. At one stage of the season, Canterbury were sitting second last on the table but rallied to achieve upset victories over the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...

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 ...

and St George to finish the season in 12th place.

2019

In round 15, Tolman made his 250th first grade appearance against Cronulla-Sutherland at

which ended in a 14-12 victory to Canterbury-Bankstown. In round 20 against the

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. Penrith ...

, Tolman played his 200th game for Canterbury - just the 12th Canterbury player to do so - and achieved in inside of nine seasons. Tolman made a total of 23 appearances for Canterbury in the

2019 NRL season The 2019 NRL season was the 112th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 22nd season run by the National Rugby League. The Sydney Roosters became the first team to win back-to-back Premierships since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992 ...

as the club finished 12th on the table. At one stage, Canterbury-Bankstown found themselves sitting last on the table and in real danger of finishing with the wooden spoon. However, for the third straight season, Canterbury achieved four upset victories in a row over Penrith, the

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 ...

, South Sydney and

who were all competing for a place in the finals series and were higher on the table. Pay was credited with the late season revival as the side focused heavily on defense.

2020

In 2020, Tolman made 17 appearances for Canterbury as the club again endured one of its toughest seasons on the field. On September 22, Tolman was told by Canterbury that his services would not be required in 2021 and that he would be released by the club. Tolman was one of eight players who were told they would be released as Canterbury looked to rebuild after a horror year on and off the field. In November 2020, Tolman signed a deal to join Cronulla-Sutherland for the 2021 season.

2021

In round 1 of the

2021 NRL season The 2021 NRL season was the 114th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 15th consecutive year. Regular season Ladd ...

, Tolman made his club debut for the

in their 32-18 victory over 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-ve ...

. Tolman played 45 minutes off the bench, running for 134 meters. In round 16, Tolman scored his first try for Cronulla-Sutherland during a 26-18 upset loss to the

. Tolman played 21 games for Cronulla in the

which saw the club narrowly miss the finals by finishing 9th on the table.

2022

In round 4 of the

2022 NRL season The 2022 NRL season is the 115th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 25th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 16th consecutive year. This became the second longest s ...

, Tolman played his 300th first grade game for

Cronulla Cronulla is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Boasting numerous surf beaches and swimming spots, the suburb attracts both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Cronulla is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydney ...

in an 18-0 victory over 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 ...

. Tolman scored the first try of the match. On 25th of August, Tolman announced he was retiring at the end of the season.

Statistics

NRL

City vs Country

References

External links

Canterbury Bulldogs profileBulldogs profile

Melbourne Storm profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolman, Aiden 1988 births Living people Australian rugby league players Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players Melbourne Storm players Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players Junior Kangaroos players Norths Devils players Rugby league props People from the Mid North Coast Rugby league players from New South Wales