Lee Crooks (born 18 September 1963) is an English 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 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, 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 ...

ed in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. He played at representative level for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, and at club level for

Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and wer ...

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly r ...

Balmain Tigers The Balmain Tigers (also known as the Sydney Tigers from 1995–96) are a rugby league club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in t ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

and

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins the ...

, as a or ,

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of Hull during the 1985–86 and 1986–87 seasons, and coached at representative level for

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

, and at club level for

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of Bi ...

and

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

Background

Lee Crooks was born in Hull,

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

, England.

Playing career

Club career

Hull

Crooks started his career at Hull, signing with the club in September 1980, on his 17th birthday. He made his debut in November 1980 against

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

, and went on to make 208 appearances for the club. He also played in three

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

Finals with the club. Crooks first cup final was during the 1981–82 season, when he played and scored four

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...

s in Hull's 12–4 victory over

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 Challeng ...

in the 1981–82 John Player Trophy Final at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingle ...

on Saturday 23 January 1982. Crooks also appeared as a substitute (replacing

Mick Crane Michael Crane (30 September 1952 – 2 July 2022) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, and at club level for Hull F.C. (three times), Le ...

) in Hull's 14–14 draw with

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...

in the

1982 Challenge Cup __NOTOC__ Year 198 (CXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 951 ''Ab u ...

Final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on Saturday 1 May 1982, in front of a crowd of 92,147, and started at in the 18-9 victory over Widnes in the replay at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...

on Wednesday 19 May 1982, in front of a crowd of 41,171. During the 1982–83 season, Crooks played at , and scored two

s and two

drop goal A drop goal, field goal, or dropped goal is a method of scoring points in rugby union and rugby league and also, rarely, in American football and Canadian football. A drop goal is scored by drop kicking the ball (dropping the ball and then kicki ...

s in Hull's 18–7 victory over

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predomi ...

in the

1982–83 Yorkshire Cup The 1982–83 Yorkshire Cup was the seventy-fifth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held. Hull F.C. winning the trophy by beating Bradford Northern by the score of 18-7 The match was played at Elland Road, Leeds, now in ...

Final at

on Saturday 2 October 1982, and played in the 14–12 defeat by

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England, who play in the Championship (rugby league), Championship. Featherstone is a former coal mining town with a population of around 16,000 and Rover ...

in the

1983 Challenge Cup The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

Final at

on Saturday 7 May 1983, in front of a crowd of 84,969. Crooks played in the 13–2 victory over

in the 1983–84 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1983–84 season at

on Saturday 15 October 1983. In the 1984–85 season, Crooks played at in the 29–12 victory over

in the 1984–85 Yorkshire Cup Final at

Boothferry Park Boothferry Park was a football stadium in Hull, England, which was home to Hull City A.F.C. from 1946 until 2002, when they moved to the KC Stadium. In later years, financial constraints forced Hull City to allow Kwik Save and Iceland superma ...

, Hull on Saturday 27 October 1984, and played in the 0–12 defeat by

in the 1984–85 John Player Special Trophy Final at

, Hull on Saturday 26 January 1985. At the end of the season, he played at , was

, and scored two

s in the 24–28 defeat by

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

in the 1985 Challenge Cup Final during the 1984–85 season at

on Saturday 4 May 1985, in front of a crowd of 99,801, in what is regarded as the most marvellous cup final in living memory, which Hull narrowly lost after fighting back from 12–28 down at half-time. Crooks played , and scored four

s in the 24–31 defeat by

in the

1986–87 Yorkshire Cup The 1986–87 Yorkshire Cup was the seventy-ninth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition was held. This season there were no junior/amateur clubs taking part, and no "leavers", but another new entrant in the form of Mansfield Marksman a ...

Final during the 1986–87 season at

on Saturday 11 October 1986.

Western Suburbs

While at Hull, Crooks spent the

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

and

1986 NSWRL season The 1986 New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the seventy-ninth season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Thirteen clubs competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup during the season, which culminated in a gran ...

with

. He scored a try on his debut against

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 ...

. In 2010, Crooks was named in the Magpies Team of the Eighties.

Leeds

In June 1987, Crooks was sold to

for a world record transfer fee of £150,000. Crooks played in Leeds' 33–12 victory over

in the

1988 Yorkshire Cup File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

Final during the 1988–89 season at

on Sunday 16 October 1988. During his time at Leeds, Crooks struggled with off-the-field problems and was eventually transfer listed.

Castleford

In January 1990, Crooks was signed by

for a fee of £150,000. Crooks played left- and was

's 12-28 defeat by

in the

1992 Challenge Cup Year 199 (Roman numerals, CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been ...

Final during the 1991–92 season at

on Saturday 2 May 1992, in front of a crowd of 77,386. Crooks played left-, scored a

, and was

's 11-8 victory over

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the c ...

in the

1990 Yorkshire Cup Year 199 (Roman numerals, CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been ...

Final during the 1990–91 season at

on Sunday 23 September 1990, and played, and was

in the 28-6 victory over

in the

1991 Yorkshire Cup File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, 1991 Russian presidential election, elected as Russia's first President of Russia, president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated ...

Final during the 1991–92 season at

on Sunday 20 October 1991. He also played in Castleford's 33-2 victory over Wigan in the 1993–94 Regal Trophy Final during the 1993–94 season at

on Saturday 22 January 1994.

Representative honours

Crooks became the youngest ever Great Britain

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

forward when he made his début aged 19 on Saturday 30 October 1982. Unfortunately his international début was soured as

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

sent shock waves through English football with a 40–4 win at

in Hull with Crooks providing Britain's only score with 2 penalty goals. He was selected to go on the

1988 Great Britain Lions tour The 1988 Great Britain Lions tour was the Great Britain national rugby league team's 18th tour of Australasia and took place from May to July 1988. It started with a Test match against Papua New Guinea before the best-of-three series against Austr ...

. Crooks won 19

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

s for

while at Hull in 1982 against Australia (2 matches), in 1984 against France (sub), and Australia (2 matches), in 1985 against New Zealand, and New Zealand (sub), in 1986 against France (2 matches), and Australia (3 matches), in 1987 against France, while at Leeds in 1989 against France, while at Castleford in 1992 against France (2 matches), Papua New Guinea, and he was selected to go on the

1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand The 1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Australasia was a tour by the Great Britain national rugby league team, nicknamed the 'Lions', of Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand which took place between May and July 1992. The tour was the last of ...

. He also played in 1994 against France. Crooks also won a

playing at for

while at Castleford, scoring two

s in the 17-12 victory over Lancashire at

' stadium on 18 September 1991. Crooks won a

for

while at Castleford in 1992 against Wales.

Coaching career

He coached Serbia in their

2013 Rugby League World Cup qualifying Of the fourteen teams that would participate in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, only two were not automatic inclusions, so must win qualifying matches to enter the tournament, which was held in Wales and England. Originally around twenty teams w ...

campaign. In February 2014, Crooks joined the

Rugby Football League The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England, and until 1995 for the whole British Isles. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisati ...

(RFL) again this time in the role of England Regional Performance Coach for the North East. He will oversee the coaching at the RFL's North East Academy, as well as helping to develop community clubs in the region where he intends to build on the great work that was done by his predecessor Andy Kelly.

Personal life

Crooks married aged 17, but got divorced in 1986. His second wife Karen is the sister of former Hull teammate,

Steve Norton Stephen Norton (22 December 1951), also known by the nickname of "Knocker", is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s, and coached in the 1990s. He played at representative level for Great Brita ...

. He is the father of the rugby league footballer;

Ben Crooks Ben Crooks (born 15 June 1993) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or er for the Keighley Cougars in the RFL Championship, Betfred Championship. Crooks has previously played for Hull Kingston Rovers and Hull F.C ...

References

External links

*(archived by web.archive.org
Profile at thecastlefordtigers.co.uk
*(archived by web.archive.org
Stats → PastPlayers → C at hullfc.com
*(archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at hullfc.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crooks, Lee 1963 births Living people Balmain Tigers players Castleford Tigers players Crooks family England national rugby league team players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Hull F.C. captains Hull F.C. players Keighley Cougars coaches Leeds Rhinos players Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Serbia national rugby league team coaches Rugby league players from Kingston upon Hull Western Suburbs Magpies players York Wasps coaches Yorkshire rugby league team players