Name Paul Aiton Height 1.75 m | Weight 88 kg | |
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Similar People Brad Singleton, Jamie Jones‑Buchanan, Adam Cuthbertson, Brett Delaney, Rob Burrow Profiles | ||
Paul Aiton 2017
Paul Aiton (born 29 May 1985 in Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea) is a Papua New Guinean rugby league player who has signed to play for Super League side Leeds Rhinos from the 2014 season
Contents
- Paul Aiton 2017
- Paul aiton first utility super league player of the month for march
- Penrith Panthers
- Cronulla Sharks
- Wakefield Wildcats
- Leeds Rhinos
- Catalans Dragons
- International career
- Honours
- References
Aiton previously played for Wakefield Trinity (Heritage № 1309) in England's Super League. He previously played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Penrith Panthers in the Australian National Rugby League (NRL). He primarily plays at hooker.
Paul aiton first utility super league player of the month for march
Penrith Panthers
With his family, Aiton moved to Caboolture, Queensland in the early 1990s. He played his junior football with the Caboolture Snakes before signing with Wests Panthers in Brisbane. His stint at the Penrith Panthers' feeder club led to a contract with the NRL club in 2003 and he finally made his NRL début in 2006. Aiton played for the Penrith Panthers until the end of the 2009 season making 72 appearances and scoring 8 tries.
Cronulla Sharks
Aiton signed a 2-year deal with Cronulla in 2010 and went on to make 36 appearances, scoring 5 tries. At the end of the 2011 season it was announced he was to leave Cronulla to go play in Super League.
Following his departure, he was one of seventeen Sharks players found guilty of using illegal substances under the club's 2011 supplements program. When the case was eventually concluded in 2016, Aiton had a twelve-month suspension recorded against his name, although he served none of the time due to backdating of the sanction.
Wakefield Wildcats
Aiton moved to Wakefield Trinity in England on a two-year contract from 2012. He made 47 appearances for them in 2 years scoring 7 tries.
Leeds Rhinos
In 2014 Aiton moved to Leeds on a two-year deal in the hope of winning silverware. He was awarded the number 9 shirt. He won the Challenge Cup in his first season, which was Leeds' first in over a decade. He missed part of the 2014 season due to medication he was taking that prevented him from playing. Aiton was injured towards the end of the 2015 season and missed out on winning the Treble with Leeds. He left making 47 appearances scoring 3 times.
Catalans Dragons
On 5 August 2015, Aiton decided not to sign a new deal with the Leeds Rhinos, instead moving on to play for France's biggest rugby league franchise the Catalans Dragons. Aiton said “I will always be honoured to have played for Leeds Rhinos but the opportunity to move to France from next season and be part of the Dragons was something that excited me at this stage in my career." He signed a three-year deal with the Dragons beginning in the 2016 season.
International career
In 2004, Aiton was selected to play for Papua New Guinea against Australia.
Aiton was named in the Papua New Guinea training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.
He captained Papua New Guinea in the 2010 Four Nations tournament.
He played for Papua New Guinea in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup. During the World Cup, Paul signed a three-year deal to play with Super League heavyweights Leeds Rhinos starting in 2014.
Honours
Challenge Cup: 2014