Dwayne Barker (born 21 September 1983) is an English former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer. Barker's usual position was , he could also operate in the centres. Barker has previously played for the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home games at Headingley Rugby Stadium, AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby lea ...

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers (often abbreviated to Hull KR) are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Craven Park, Hull, Craven Park and compete in Super League, the top tier of B ...

, and the

Castleford Tigers The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England. They play their home games at Wheldon Road (currently known as the Mend-A-Hose Jungle for sponsorship reasons) and compete in the Super League, t ...

. He has also enjoyed short loan spells with the

London Broncos The London Broncos are a professional rugby league club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, England. They play their home games at Plough Lane and currently compete in the RFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of British rugby le ...

and

Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Hull play their home games at the MKM Stadium and compete in Super League, the t ...

Background

Barker was born in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, England.

Early career

Barker had played much of his early career at or . He captained the Rhinos Academy to Grand Final success in 2001 beating Wigan. He originally signed for the club from local amateur team Milford ARLFC in 1999. A highly versatile player, he has even played as a . He is blessed with good ball skills and pace.

Controversy

Dwayne Barker was ordered to do 150 hours of community service following an incident outside a Leeds nightclub in July 2002. Chev Walker and Ryan Bailey were sent to young offenders institutions for their involvement in a city centre brawl. Walker was sentenced to 18 months whilst his then

teammate Bailey was given nine months' detention after an incident outside a Leeds nightclub in July 2002.

Rochdale Hornets The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the League 1, the third tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs tha ...

player Paul Owen was gaoled for 15 months. All four pleaded guilty to violent disorder at a previous hearing. The court heard how the brawl began after Owen was said to have been tricked into handing over his mobile phone to an unidentified woman outside Creation nightclub. As he tried to recover it, the

players thought she was being assaulted and set about Owen. A four-minute video of the brawl was played which showed the Leeds players trading kicks and blows with Owen. At one point Owen was seen to punch Barker to the ground and as he struggled to regain his feet he was kicked in the head and knocked out. The judge said Barker had played a limited role in the violence.

Harlquins RL

Dwayne Barker signed a 12-month contract with Harlequins RL for 2008's Super League XIII season.

Background

Early career

Controversy

Harlquins RL

References

External links