THROUGH his exploits for England and in the NRL, Gareth Widdop is a household name for British rugby league fans despite never playing in a Super League game.

That will change next year, though, as he returns to his homeland to play for The Wire having signed a three-year deal from the 2020 campaign.

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But just who is Warrington’s newest marquee signing? We take a look at a timeline of Widdop’s life and career.

EARLY CAREER

Widdop was born and raised in Halifax and played junior rugby for the King Cross Park amateur club.

> VIDEO: Widdop splitting defences with pinpoint passes and deft grubber kicks

He also featured for rugby union side Old Brodleians before he relocated to Melbourne with his family aged 16.

There, he continued to play rugby league for the Altona Roosters, where he came to the attention of the Melbourne Storm.

From there, he earned junior state and national team selection before the Storm signed him to their under 20s team.

He scored the winning try in Melbourne’s 2009 NYC Grand Final win over West Tigers and was named the club’s NYC player of the year.

NRL BREAKTHROUGH

Widdop’s NRL debut came in round seven of the 2010 season – just after he had been a non-playing squad member for the Storm as they beat Leeds Rhinos to win the World Club Challenge.

He played in only three NRL games that year but it was enough to bring him to the attention of England coach Steve McNamara.

Having been a surprise call-up to the England squad to face France in a mid-season Test, Widdop played at full-back and scored a try with his first touch of the ball.

In that year’s Four Nations, he notched a try and a goals against New Zealand before kicking another goal against Papua New Guinea.

2011 proved to be Widdop’s true breakthrough year as he featured in 25 NRL matches for Melbourne as they won the minor Premiership before appearing in all four of England’s Four Nations matches as the tournament was staged on home soil.

TITLE WINNER

2012 once again saw Widdop feature in 25 NRL games – but the last of them was that year’s NRL Grand Final.

He started at stand-off and helped the Storm to a 14-4 win over Canterbury to be crowned NRL Premiers.

Widdop played in the following year’s World Club Challenge win over Leeds before it was announced that he would be joining St George Illawarra Dragons from 2014.

His final year at Melbourne was plagued by a serious hip injury that restricted him to just 16 appearances, but he was picked for England’s 2013 Rugby League World Cup squad, featuring in three matches.

 

LINKING UP WITH PRICE

Widdop’s move to St George Illawarra saw him link up with current Wire head coach Steve Price, although that partnership lasted just 10 games as Price departed the club partway through the season.

Having formed a strong half-back partnership with Benji Marshall, Widdop finished as the club’s top points scorer in his debut season before starting all three of England’s matches in the 2014 Four Nations.

His first taste of The Halliwell Jones Stadium came the following year as he kicked three goals in St George’s 18-12 World Club Series win over The Wire.

That year once again saw him top the club points charts and feature prominently in England’s end-of-season Test series win over New Zealand.

 

STAND-OUT PERFORMER

The high point of Widdop’s career so far came in 2017, when his performances for St George saw him named Dally M Five-Eighth of the Year – the first Englishman to win the award.

Despite that, his best performances in an England shirt came at full-back during that year’s Rugby League World Cup as he helped them to the final, where they were beaten by Australia.

Widdop helped St George to the NRL Finals for the first time since 2015 last season, but he suffered two dislocations of the same shoulder that restricted him to 22 appearances.

 

Picture by NRLPhotos