Everybody at Dewsbury Rams would like to congratulate Paul Sykes who reached his milestone 500th first-class career appearance on Sunday against York.
Sykes started off his professional career with Bradford Bulls and made his professional as an eighteen-year-old on 2nd July 1999 against Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. He made several appearances during the late nineties/ early noughties but found opportunities hard to come by and had several stints on loan with London Broncos, before making the move to the capital permanent in August 2002.
Playing over one hundred and thirty games for London Broncos/ Harlequins, Sykes cemented himself as a club legend and is the joint highest points scorer in the Summer Era at the club. He returned to Bradford in 2008 where he stayed for four years before joining Wakefield Trinity initially on loan and then permanently. In 2015, he moved to Featherstone Rovers and stayed for one season, winning the Championship Shield, before heading to his hometown club Dewsbury ahead of the 2016 season.
Since 2016, Sykes has been a stalwart of the Dewsbury side, making one hundred and forty-seven appearances, scoring twenty-four tries and kicking three hundred and sixty-one goals. In his seven seasons at Dewsbury so far, he has made more appearances for the Rams than any other club. He continues to be an important part of the team and pass career landmarks, with his recent try at Newcastle being his 2,500th point in club rugby. He is in sixth place in the Rams record appearance holders (Summer Era) only eleven behind Head Coach Liam Finn. Another record that he holds is that he is the last person still playing professionally who played in the 1900’s.
Sykes’ form whilst at the Broncos/ Harlequins earned him international recognition and he played for an England ‘A’ side in 2002 and 2003 before playing for England five times between 2005 and 2009, featuring at the 2008 Rugby League World Cup in Australia. He also represented Great Britain in 2007, scoring a try in a 42-14 victory against France.
