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