Paul Cullen (rugby league)
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| Born | 4 March 1963 Warrington, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Paul Cullen (born 4 March 1963) is an English professional
Playing career
Paul Cullen joined Warrington in 1980 from local Amateur side Crosfields ARLFC , where he stayed for 17 years. He played mainly in the centre position at the club. Nicknamed "psycho", despite limited attacking flair, Cullen had an aggressive defence which made him a crowd favourite.
County Cup Final appearances
Paul Cullen played
John Player Special/Regal Trophy Final appearances
Paul Cullen played right-
Coaching career
After ending his playing career in 1996, Cullen moved into coaching. He had spells on the coaching staff at Warrington. He worked in both the under-21s and as assistant coach.
In 2000 he moved to
He accepted his first Super League head coaching role at Warrington in August 2002, replacing David Plange.
Cullen successfully steered Warrington away from relegation, by winning 2 games against Halifax and Castleford ending the season with a thumping 50–10 loss at Wakefield.,[7] and towards play-off football. It was this success which bought Cullen an extended rein at the helm due to the loyalty of the fans despite falling short of expectations with the playing roster he had.
In 2006 he was appointed the Head Coach of England 'A' ahead of the Federation Shield tournament in the autumn.
On 26 May 2008, following a run of poor form that culminated in a 36–28 to struggling Castleford, Cullen resigned from his position as Head Coach amid heavy pressure from fans and pundits.[citation needed] He was the longest-serving coach in the league at the time of his departure, having spent six years in charge of the Wires and guided them to a Challenge Cup semi-final and a play-off victory.
His replacement at Warrington was James Lowes, who was later replaced by Tony Smith.
Widnes unveiled Paul Cullen as Head Coach on a two-year deal on 9 March 2009. Speaking on his appointment he said "I'm really excited to be joining Widnes. The plan is simple, we need to get Widnes into Super League where we belong".[8] In November 2010, he moved upstairs at the club to become Director of Rugby while Denis Betts took over his position as head coach.
References
- ^ a b "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ "Player Summary: Paul Cullen". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ "Denis Betts Joins Widnes Vikings As New Head Coach As Paul Cullen Becomes Director Of Rugby". liverpooldailypost.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ "1985–1986 Lancashire Cup Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2011. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ^ "10th January 1987: Warrington 4 Wigan 18 (John Player Trophy Final)". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ "28th January 1995: Warrington 10 Wigan 40 (Regal Trophy Final)". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ "Results Archive". warringtonwolves.com. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ "Welcome to the Official Site of Widnes Vikings". Archived from the original on 3 July 2009. Retrieved 18 August 2009.