Darren Fleary (born 2 December 1972) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s, and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He played at representative level for Great Britain and England, and at club level for

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

, Keighley Cougars, Leeds Rhinos, Huddersfield Giants and the

Leigh Centurions The Leigh Leopards are a professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England, who compete in the Betfred Super League. The club was founded in 1878, and is one of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern R ...

, as a or .

Background

Darren Fleary's birth was registered in Huddersfield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. After finishing his playing career, Fleary worked as a prison officer at Armley Jail in Leeds, and also coached junior teams at Newsome Panthers.

Playing career

Early career

Fleary started his professional career with

, signing from amateur club Moldgreen in September 1991. He moved to Keighley Cougars in 1994.

Leeds Rhinos

In July 1997, Fleary was one of nine Keighley players who signed for Leeds Rhinos for a combined fee of £25,000. Fleary played in Leeds Rhinos' 4–10 defeat by Wigan Warriors in the

1998 Super League Grand Final The 1998 JJB Super League Grand Final was the first staging of the Super League Grand Final and the conclusive and championship-deciding game of 1998's Super League III, and the first Grand Final of the Super League era. It was held on Saturday ...

during

Super League III JJB Sports Super League III was the official name for the year 1998's Super League championship season, the 104th season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the third season played in summer. The League format changed i ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

, Manchester on Saturday 24 October 1998. Fleary played in Leeds Rhinos' 52–16 victory over

London Broncos The London Broncos are a professional rugby league club in London, England. The club competes in the RFL Championship. It was a member of Super League from its inaugural season in 1996 until the end of the 2014 season, when they were relegat ...

in the

1999 Challenge Cup The 1999 Challenge Cup, known as the Silk Cut Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 98th staging of the Challenge Cup, a European rugby league cup competition. The competition ended with the final on 1 May 1999, which was played at Wembl ...

Final during

Super League IV JJB Sports Super League IV was the official name for the year 1999's Super League championship season, the 105th season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the fourth championship run by the Super League. The start of ...

at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 1 May 1999, and played left- in the 18–24 defeat by Bradford Bulls in the

2000 Challenge Cup The 2000 Challenge Cup (officially known as the 2000 Silk Cut Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby league football tournament which began its preliminary stages in December 1999 and ended with the final on 29 April 2000. The final w ...

Final during

Super League V Tetley's Bitter Super League was the official name for the year 2000's Super League championship season, the 106th season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the fifth championship run by the Super League. The season c ...

Murrayfield Stadium Murrayfield Stadium (known as BT Murrayfield Stadium for sponsorship reasons, or popularly as Murrayfield) is a Rugby stadium located in the Murrayfield area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It has a seating capacity of 67,144 making it the largest sta ...

, Edinburgh on Saturday 29 April 2000.

Later career

Fleary joined his hometown club Huddersfield Giants in 2003. He was chosen as the club's captain for the 2004 season, following the departure of Steve McNamara. He spent his final season with

in 2005, where he was also appointed captain.

International honours

Fleary played twice Great Britain while at Leeds Rhinos in 1998 against New Zealand during the 1998 Kiwis tour. He also won caps for England while at Leeds Rhinos in the 2000 Rugby League World Cup against Australia (sub), Russia, and New Zealand (sub).

References

External links

* ĎŔ�
BBC England squad listFleary faces disciplinary rap
*(archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at rugbyleague.co.nzChallenge Cup teams and profilesDarren Fleary interview for Thirteen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleary, Darren 1972 births Living people Black British sportsmen Dewsbury Rams players England national rugby league team players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Huddersfield Giants players Keighley Cougars players Leeds Rhinos players Leigh Leopards captains Leigh Leopards players Rugby league players from Huddersfield Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Yorkshire rugby league team players