Ryan Hoffman

Ryan Hoffman (born 26 January 1984) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s.^[4] He played for Melbourne Storm and the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League, and the Wigan Warriors in the Super League, as a second-row.

Ryan Hoffman

Hoffman in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Ryan Jay Hoffman
Born	(1984-01-26) 26 January 1984 (age 40) Canberra, ACT, Australia
Height	192 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	103 kg (16 st 3 lb)[1]
Playing information
Position	Second-row
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2003–10 Melbourne Storm 170 41 0 0 164 2011 Wigan Warriors 34 11 0 0 44 2012–14 Melbourne Storm 75 18 0 0 72 2015–17 New Zealand Warriors 60 10 1 0 42 2018 Melbourne Storm 20 2 0 0 8 Total 359 82 1 0 330 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2006–14 NSW City 7 1 0 0 4 2007–15 New South Wales 14 0 0 0 0 2007–14 Australia 6 0 0 0 0 2014 Prime Minister's XIII 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [2][3] As of 16 December 2023

Early life

Hoffman was born in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. His father, Jay Hoffman, played professional football for the Canberra Raiders, representing Queensland in the pre-Origin era.^[5][6]

Hoffman attended the renowned rugby league school St Gregory's College in Campbelltown, New South Wales.^[7]

Club career

Melbourne Storm (2003–2010)

Hoffman and Clint Newton in 2007 celebrating after a win for Melbourne

Hoffman started his NRL career with the Melbourne Storm in 2003. In 2006, his improving form led to him being selected for the New South Wales City Origin side for the first time. It also earned him the Storm's Forward of the Year award. In addition, he was named in the second row for Melbourne Storm's team of the decade.^[8]

Following the 2006 NRL Grand Final loss to the Brisbane Broncos, Hoffman sat in the middle of Telstra Stadium in tears, an image which was printed in newspapers all around Australia.^[9]

In 2007, Hoffman was part of the Melbourne team which won the Grand Final, defeating Manly by 34–8. He played in the 2009 NRL Grand Final victory over the Parramatta Eels, scoring the opening try.^[10] In 2010, both premierships which Hoffman won with Melbourne were stripped due to the club's breaches of the salary cap between 2006 and 2010.^[11]

Wigan Warriors (2011)

In July 2010, Hoffman signed with Super League club Wigan Warriors, where he was given the #16 shirt and replaced Phil Bailey at second-row.^[12][13]

Hoffman scored on his first-grade début for the side at the season-opening Magic Weekend event against the club's rivals, St Helens R.F.C.^[14]

He then featured in the 2011 World Club Challenge where Wigan lost 15–21 to St George Illawarra Dragons in their first home game of the season.^[15]

In rounds 4 and 5, Hoffman scored a try apiece against Hull F.C. and Huddersfield Giants respectively.^[16][17] Another try at Hull Kingston Rovers in Round 9 made his record four tries from ten starting games for Wigan.^[18]

Hoffman played in the 2011 Challenge Cup Final victory over the Leeds Rhinos at Wembley Stadium, playing as a second-row forward, helping the side to defeat Leeds 28–18.^{[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]}

Melbourne Storm (2012–2014)

Hoffman signed a new deal to return to the NRL and the Melbourne Storm in 2012. Midseason, he captained the team for four games in the absence of Cameron Smith, becoming the 18th player to captain the club. He played in their 2012 Premiership victory over Canterbury-Bankstown, scoring the first try of the game.

He set up the first try for teammate Billy Slater in the 2013 World Club Challenge victory over Leeds.^[34]

New Zealand Warriors (2015–2017)

On 7 May 2014 Hoffman announced that he had signed a three-year deal with the New Zealand Warriors, worth an estimated $1.6 million.^[35]

In April 2015 Hoffman played his 250th NRL career game against his former club Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park.

On 17 February 2016 Hoffman was named the new club captain, after incumbent captain Simon Mannering stepped down from the role. Hoffman is the second Australian to have captained the New Zealand club, after Steve Price.

On 1 February 2017, new Warriors coach Stephen Kearney announced that Hoffman would be replaced as captain and would not be re-signed for the 2018 season.^[36]

On 10 June, Hoffman became just the 27th player (in the game) to reach the 300th game milestone. In his 300th game, he scored the first try of the game (in the first half) and kicked a conversion goal (to Hingano's try, in the 80th minute) during the Warriors' 34-12 round 14 win against the Gold Coast Titans.

Melbourne Storm (2018)

On 10 October 2017 the Melbourne Storm announced that Hoffman would return to the club on a 1-year deal that saw him end his playing career at the club. On Tuesday 3 July Hoffman publicly announced that he was retiring at the end of the 2018 NRL season.^[37]

Representative career

Hoffman playing for Australia

While attending Campbelltown St. Gregory's College, Hoffman played for the Australian Schoolboys team in 2002.^[38]

He was named as the 18th man for Australia in the 2007 ANZAC Test against New Zealand. In October, 2007, he was selected in the run-on side for the Centenary Test against New Zealand in Wellington.^[39]

Again as 18th man, Hoffman was on stand-by for the 2007 New South Wales State of Origin Team in game 1 of the series. He was selected on the bench in game 2 and 3 of the same series.

In 2008, Hoffman was named in the New South Wales starting side in all three Origin matches.

In August 2008, he was named in the Australia national rugby league team preliminary 46-man Kangaroos squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.^[40][41]

He was selected for City in the City vs Country match on 8 May 2009.^[42]

Statistics

NRL

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2018 season^[43]

†	Denotes seasons in which Hoffman won an NRL Premiership
†	Denotes seasons in which Hoffman won an NRL Premiership that was later stripped

Season	Team	Matches	T	G	GK %	F/G	Pts	W	L	D	W-L %
2003	Melbourne Storm	13	2	0	—	0	8	7	6	0	53.85
2004		20	2	0	—	0	8	10	10	0	50.00
2005		23	4	0	—	0	16	12	11	0	52.17
2006		27	10	0	—	0	40	22	5	0	81.48
2007†		25	10	0	—	0	40	23	2	0	92.00
2008		21	4	0	—	0	16	17	4	0	80.95
2009†		25	6	0	0.0	0	24	16	8	1	64.00
2010		16	3	0	0.0	0	12	10	6	0	62.50
2011	Wigan Warriors	35	11				48
2012†	Melbourne Storm	27	11	0	—	0	44	20	7	0	74.07
2013		24	4	0	—	0	16	16	7	1	66.67
2014		24	3	0	—	0	12	13	11	0	54.17
2015	New Zealand Warriors	18	3	0	—	0	12	8	10	0	44.44
2016		23	2	0	—	0	8	9	14	0	39.13
2017		19	6	1	100%	0	26	7	12	0	36.84
2018	Melbourne Storm	20	2	0	—	0	8	12	8	0	60.00
Career totals		359	82	1	33.00	0	330	202	121	2	62.15

State of Origin

^[44]

†	Denotes seasons in which Hoffman won a State of Origin Series

Season	Team	Matches	T	G	GK %	F/G	Pts	W	L	D	W-L %
2007	New South Wales	2	0	0	—	0	0	1	1	0	50.00
2008	New South Wales	3	0	0	—	0	0	1	2	0	33.33
2013	New South Wales	3	0	0	—	0	0	1	2	0	33.33
2014†	New South Wales	3	0	0	—	0	0	2	1	0	66.66
2015	New South Wales	3	0	0	—	0	0	1	2	0	33.33
Career totals		14	0	0	—	0	0	6	8	0	42.86

Australia

^[45]

Season	Team	Matches	T	G	GK %	F/G	Pts	W	L	D	W-L %
2007	Australia	1	0	0	—	0	0	1	0	0	100.00
2008	Australia	1	0	0	—	0	0	1	0	0	100.00
2009	Australia	2	0	0	—	0	0	1	0	1	75.00
2012	Australia	1	0	0	—	0	0	1	0	0	100.00
2014	Australia	1	0	0	—	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Career totals		6	0	0	—	0	0	4	1	1	80.00

Honours

Melbourne Storm

• 2006 NRL Grand Final Runner-up
• 2007 NRL Grand Final Winners
• 2008 World Club Challenge Runner-up
• 2009 NRL Grand Final Winners
• 2010 World Club Challenge Winners
• 2012 NRL Grand Final Winners
• 2013 World Club Challenge Winners
• 2018 World Club Challenge Winners

Wigan Warriors

• 2011 World Club Challenge Runners-Up
• 2011 Challenge Cup Winners

Individual

• 2012 – Melbourne Storm – Forward of the Year
• 2013 – Spirit of ANZAC Medal
• 2014 – Brad Fittler Medal^[46]

Footnotes

1. "Wigan Warriiors Player Profile Ryan Hoffman". web page. wiganwarriors.com. Archived from the original on 14 March 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
2. loverugbyleague
3. Ryan Hoffman rugbyleagueproject.org
4. "Silencing the inner voice". PlayersVoice. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
5. "Origin teams for game two". Queensland Rugby League. Archived from the original on 4 September 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2007.
6. "So it is a family game, after all". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 April 2004. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
7. "School of NRL success". Camden-Narellan Advertiser. 13 March 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
8. "Team of the Decade". Melbourne Storm official site. 13 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
9. "Champion of champions". australiantimes.com.au. 12 February 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
10. "NRL grand final". ABC News. 4 September 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
11. "'They are ours': Why Cameron Smith will always recognise Storm's stripped premierships". Fox Sports. 31 July 2019.
12. Lucius, Adam. "Storm lose rep pair". Sportal Australia. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
13. "Warriors Announce 2011 Squad Numbers". Wigan Warriors. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
14. "St Helens 16-16 Wigan". 12 February 2011.
15. "Wigan Warriors 15-21 St George Illawarra Dragons". BBC. 27 February 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
16. "Wigan 14-12 Hull FC". 13 March 2011.
17. Stewart, Rob (18 March 2011). "Huddersfield Giants 6 Wigan Warriors 20: match report". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
18. "Hull KR 16-28 Wigan". BBC. 15 April 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
19. "Wigan edge thrilling cup final". uk.eurosport.yahoo.com. 27 August 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
20. Scott, Ged (27 August 2011). "Wigan's Challenge Cup win a team effort – Joel Tomkins". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
21. "Maguire salutes Wembley heroes". Sky Sports. 27 August 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
22. ESPN staff (27 August 2011). "Challenge Cup glory for Wigan Warriors". ESPN. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
23. wiganwarriors.com (28 August 2011). "Wigan are 2011 Cup Champions". rleague.com. Archived from the original on 20 June 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
24. Scott, Ged (27 August 2011). "Leeds 18-28 Wigan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
25. Wilson, Andy (27 August 2011). "Leeds Rhinos 18-28 Wigan Warriors – Challenge Cup final match report". The Guardian. London.
26. therfl.co.uk (28 August 2011). "Challenge Cup: Lima inspires Wigan win". rleague.com. Archived from the original on 20 June 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
27. Brown, Oliver (27 August 2011). "Challenge Cup final: Leeds Rhinos 18 Wigan Warriors 28". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
28. Chisnall, Craig (28 August 2011). "Lima double inspires Wigan to Cup win". Wide World of Sports. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
29. Henson, Mike (27 August 2011). "Challenge Cup final – as it happened". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
30. Brown, Oliver (28 August 2011). "Challenge Cup final 2011: Wigan's warrior spirit shades controversy in emphatic win over Leeds Rhinos". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
31. Press Association (27 August 2011). "Wigan edge thrilling cup final". Free Press. Archived from the original on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
32. "O'Loughlin savours special cup win". uk.eurosport.yahoo.com. 28 August 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
33. "Wigan's Sam Tomkins punished for gesture at Leeds fans". BBC Sport. 30 August 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
34. "Storm beat Leeds in World Club Challenge". Archived from the original on 26 February 2013.
35. "Storm's Ryan Hoffman to sign for NZ Warriors". stuff.co.nz. 7 May 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
36. "Warriors coach Stephen Kearney confirms Ryan Hoffman exit in 2018".
37. "Hoffman signs with Storm". Heraldsun.com.au. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2023. (subscription required)
38. "SportingPulse Homepage for Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". SportingPulse. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
39. "New Zealand vs Australia 2007". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
40. Liam FitzGibbon (1 August 2008). "Surprises in Kangaroos squad". "Fox Sports News (Australia)". Retrieved 2 August 2008.
41. "Veteran Lockyer named in Australian squad". International Herald Tribune. 1 August 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
42. Balym, Todd (3 May 2009). "Blues halfback duel in two as Mitchell Pearce misses selection". Australia: Fox Sports. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
43. Ryan Hoffman's player stats at rugbyleagueproject.org
44. Ryan Hoffman's Representative player profile at Rugby League Project
45. Ryan Hoffman's International player profile at Rugby League Project
46. "Brad Fittler Medal". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 20 May 2021.

External links

• Melbourne Storm profile