Ben Crooks

Ben Crooks (born 15 June 1993) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre or winger for Hull Kingston Rovers in the Betfred Super League.

Ben Crooks
Personal information
Full nameBenjamin Crooks
Born (1993-06-15) 15 June 1993
Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England
Height6 ft 3 in (1.90 m)
Weight14 st 13 lb (95 kg)
Playing information
PositionCentre, Wing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2012–14 Hull F.C. 51 31 30 0 184
2014(DR) → Doncaster 3 5 0 0 20
2015 Parramatta Eels 0 0 0 0 0
2016–17 Castleford Tigers 28 6 1 0 26
2017(loan) → Leigh Centurions 23 7 0 0 28
2018 Leigh Centurions 25 16 0 0 64
2018(loan) → Hull Kingston Rovers 6 1 0 0 4
2019– Hull Kingston Rovers 62 31 0 0 112
Total 198 97 31 0 438
As of 15 June 2021
Source: [1][2]

He played for Hull F.C. in the Super League, and on loan from Hull at Doncaster R.L.F.C. in the Championship. He was contracted to the Parramatta Eels in the NRL, returning to the UK to play for the Castleford Tigers (Heritage № 963), and then on loan from Castleford at the Leigh Centurions in the Super League.

Background

Crooks was born in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England.

Personal life

He is the son of Hull F.C. Legend, Lee Crooks and the nephew of another Hull F.C. Legend, Steve "Knocker" Norton.

Hull F.C. (2012–14)

Crooks is a product of the Hull F.C. Academy System. Crooks made his Hull F.C. and Super League début on 22 April 2012, in a 56-12 loss to Wigan.

He enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2013, creating a deadly try-scoring combination with winger Tom Lineham. Which led to his selection in the Super League Dream Team. At the end of the 2013 season, he was named Super League's 'Young Player of the Year.'

He also represented Hull F.C. in the 2013 Challenge Cup Final. Crooks struggled to recapture his form in 2014, making only 12 first-team appearances for Hull F.C. and spending time on loan at Doncaster.

Crooks in action for Hull F.C. in 2014

Doncaster R.L.F.C. (2014)

He had a short loan-spell at Doncaster in 2014, making three appearances and scoring five tries in total.

Parramatta Eels (2015)

Crooks signed a two-year deal with National Rugby League side Parramatta, in September 2014.

Crooks in action for the Wentworthville Magpies in 2015

But he left after only a year, after his deal with Parramatta turned out to be an unsuccessful one.

As a result, Crooks mainly played for the reserve-grade New South Wales Cup team the Wentworthville Magpies.[3]

Subsequently following his departure from Parramatta, Crooks signed a deal to play for Castleford in the Super League, ahead of the 2016 rugby league season.

Castleford Tigers (2016-17)

Crooks returned to the Super League in 2016 and signed a three-year contract with Castleford.

Although he didn't manage to play in the NRL he shared his belief saying that, "I believe I have achieved my goals in my career development and I will return to the Super League a better player for the experience."[4]

Leigh Centurions (2017-18)

Crooks joined Leigh on loan from Castleford for the 2017 season.[5]

The move was then made on a permanent basis with a two-year deal signed in October 2017.[6]

Crooks in action for the Leigh Centurions in 2018

Hull Kingston Rovers (2018 - present)

It was revealed on 26 July 2018, that Crooks would be returning to the city of Hull to play for Hull Kingston Rovers for the remainder of the 2018 rugby league season, on a loan basis from Leigh.

The loan-deal which involved Crooks moving to the east Hull outfit, also saw his fellow Centurions' teammate Craig Hall come over with him in the same move.

On 27 July 2018, just a day after joining Hull Kingston Rovers. Crooks made his début for the club on a rain-swept evening against Hull F.C. at the KCOM Stadium, in the final round of the regular Super League season.

Crooks marked his return to the city of Hull by recording an impressive display, starting the game at the centre position in the 'Hull Derby.' In which Hull KR claimed a thrilling 16-20 victory over their cross-city rivals.

It was revealed on 24 October 2018, that Crooks had agreed to sign a new two-year contract, to make his loan move from Leigh to Hull Kingston Rovers on a permanent basis starting in 2019.[7]

In round 3 of the 2021 Super League season, Crooks scored the fastest try in Super League history after scoring in the opening seven seconds of Hull Kingston Rovers 25-24 victory over Huddersfield.[8]

In round 6 of the 2021 Super League season, he scored two tries in a 26-22 victory over Castleford.[9] Crooks made a total of 17 appearances for Hull KR in the 2021 Super League season as the club reached the semi-final against the Catalans Dragons but were defeated 28-10.[10][11][12]

Career statistics
SeasonAppearanceTriesGoalsF/GPoints
2012: Hull F.C.1670028
2013: Hull F.C.22204088
2014: Hull F.C.13426068
2014: Doncaster R.L.F.C.350020
2015: Parramatta Eels00000
2016: Castleford Tigers2861026
2017: Leigh Centurions2370028
2018: Leigh Centurions25160064
2018: Hull Kingston Rovers61004
2019: Hull Kingston Rovers1460024
Total15072310350

Honours

Club (Hull F.C. 2012-14)

References
  1. Rugby League Project
  2. Love Rugby League
  3. "Crooks Signs New Deal". Hull Daily Mail. 10 August 2012. Archived from the original on 14 August 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  4. "Castleford Tigers sign former Hull FC centre". BBC Sport. 27 June 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  5. "Ben Crooks: Leigh Centurions sign Castleford Tigers centre on loan". BBC Sport. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  6. "Ben Crooks: Leigh Centurions sign centre from Castleford following loan spell". BBc Sport. 4 October 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  7. "Ben Crooks signs with the club for two years…". Hull Kingston Rovers. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  8. "Hull Kingston Rovers 25-24 Huddersfield Giants - Hull KR score seven-second try". www.bbc.co.uk.
  9. "Super League scores". www.bbc.co.uk.
  10. "Catalans Dragons blast past Hull KR and into their first Super League Grand Final". www.theguardian.com.
  11. "Barrie McDermott's 2021 Betfred Super League season review". www.skysports.com.
  12. "Super League: Warrington Wolves 0-19 Hull KR - Robins set up a semi-final at Catalans". www.bbc.com.
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