FORMER Warrington Wolves forward Mike Cooper has confirmed his immediate retirement from rugby league.
The prop’s current club Wigan Warriors released a statement this morning confirming the Warrington-born 35-year-old was to step away from the game upon medical advice after suffering a concussion during his last appearance.
It brings to an end a successful career spent on both sides of the globe for the former Latchford Albion junior, with the vast majority of his professional appearances coming for his hometown club.
In all, he played for Warrington 272 times across two spells, making his first-team debut in 2006 and memorably scoring a try during the 2009 Challenge Cup semi-final victory over Wigan Warriors to take the club back to Wembley for the first time in 29 years before coming off the bench in the final victory over Huddersfield Giants.
While he did not feature in the 2010 and 2012 Wembley finals, Cooper did play in the club’s first two Super League Grand Finals in 2012 and 2013 before moving Down Under to join St George Illawarra Dragons.
He played 70 times in Australia before returning to The Wire for 2017, helping them win another Challenge Cup crown in 2019 and appearing in another Grand Final the previous year before joining Wigan midway through the 2022 season.
The 13-cap England international’s time at the Brick Community Stadium was hampered by a serious knee injury suffered during the Good Friday derby against St Helens last year, but he returned at the start of 2024 to help Wigan lift the World Club Challenge by beating Penrith Panthers.
Mike Cooper helped Warrington lift the 2019 Challenge Cup having also been a part of the 2009 Wembley team (Image: MIKE BODEN)
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