# 2008 Harlequins Rugby League season

The 2008 Harlequins Rugby League season was the twenty-ninth in the club's history and their thirteenth season in the Super League. The club was coached by Brian McDermott, competing in Super League XIII, finishing in 9th place and reaching the Fifth round of the 2008 Challenge Cup.

## 2008 Squad

| Squad Number | Name | Position | Age | Previous club | Appearances | Tries | Goals | Drop Goals | Points |
| 1 | Mark McLinden | Fullback | 29 | Canberra Raiders | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2 | Jon Wells | Wing | 29 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 3 | Matt Gafa | Centre | 30 | Canberra Raiders | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
| 4 | David Howell | Centre | 24 | Canberra Raiders | 26 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| 5 | Rikki Sheriffe | Wing | 24 | Doncaster | 24 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| 6 | Scott Hill | Stand-off | 31 | Melbourne Storm | 21 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| 7 | Danny Orr | Scrum-half | 30 | Wigan Warriors | 25 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 8 | Karl Temata | Prop | 30 | New Zealand Warriors | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | Chad Randall | Hooker | 27 | Manly Sea Eagles | 29 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| 10 | Daniel Heckenberg | Prop | 28 | Manly Sea Eagles | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook | Second-row | 22 | London Broncos Academy | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 13 | Rob Purdham | Loose forward | 28 | Whitehaven | 23 | 5 | 52 | 0 | 124 |
| 14 | Julien Rinaldi | Hooker | 29 | Catalans Dragons | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 15 | Chris Melling | Fullback | 23 | Wigan Warriors | 20 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 16 | Gareth Haggerty | Prop | 26 | Salford City Reds | 25 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 17 | Danny Ward | Prop | 28 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 18 | Joe Mbu | Second-row | 24 | Doncaster | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 19 | Tony Clubb | Centre | 21 | London Broncos Academy | 25 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
| 20 | Jon Grayshon | Prop | 25 | Huddersfield Giants | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 21 | David Tootill | Prop | 22 | Leeds Rhinos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Dwayne Barker | Second-row | 23 | Castleford Tigers | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 23 | Henry Paul | Loose forward | 34 | Gloucester Rugby | 27 | 7 | 39 | 1 | 107 |
| 24 | Will Sharp | Centre | 22 | Harlequins Rugby League Academy | 15 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| 25 | Lamont Bryan | Wing | 20 | Harlequins Rugby League Academy | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Joe Walsh | Second-row | 19 | Leeds Rhinos | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Michael Worrincy | Second-row | 22 | Harlequins Rugby League Academy | 18 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| 28 | Dave Williams | Prop | 21 | Harlequins Rugby League Academy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Adam Janowski | Prop | 20 | Harlequins Rugby League Academy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Jamie O'Callaghan | Centre | 17 | Harlequins Rugby League Academy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Dylan Skee | Stand-off | 22 | Harlequins Rugby League Academy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## 2008 Signings & transfers

2008 Signings/Transfers : Gains :
| Player | Previous club | Years signed | Until the end of |
| Scott Hill | Melbourne Storm | 2 | 2008 |
| Julien Rinaldi | Catalans Dragons | 2 | 2008 |
| Jon Grayshon | Huddersfield Giants | 1 | 2007 |
| David Tootill | Leeds Rhinos | 2 | 2008 |
| Chris Melling | Wigan Warriors | 1 | 2007 |
| Danny Orr | Wigan Warriors | 3 | 2009 |
| Sione Faumuina | North Queensland Cowboys | 3 | 2009 |
| Joe Walsh | Leeds Rhinos | 2 | 2008 |
| Andy Smith | Bradford Bulls | 1 | 2007 |
| Richard Villasanti | Cronulla Sharks | 2 | 2008 |
| Luke Burgess | Leeds Rhinos | loan | 2007 |
| Joe Mbu | Doncaster | 1 | 2007 |
| Rikki Sheriffe | Doncaster | 1 | 2007 |
| Steve Bannister | St. Helens | 3 | 2009 |
2008 Signings/Transfers : Losses :
| Player | Signed for | When left |
| Luke Dorn | Salford City Reds | 2006 |
| Danny Williams | Retirement | 2006 |
| Pat Weisner | Hull Kingston Rovers | 2006 |
| Nick Bradley-Qalilawa | Manly Sea Eagles | 2006 |
| Neil Budworth | Celtic Crusaders | 2006 |
| Thomas Leuluai | Wigan Warriors | 2006 |
| Mark Tookey | Manly Sea Eagles coaching position | 2006 |
| Filimone Lolohea | Released | 2006 |
| Joe Mbu | Doncaster | 2006 |
| Rikki Sheriffe | Doncaster | 2006 |
| Paul Noone | Widnes Vikings | 2006 |
| Ade Adebisi | Doncaster | 2006 |
| Anthony Stewart | Leigh Centurions | 2006 |
| Tim Hartley | Halifax | 2006 |
| Sione Faumuina | North Queensland Cowboys | 2006 |
| / Solomon Haumono | Returned to boxing | 2006 |
| Richard Villasanti | Retirement due to injury | 2007 |

## 2008 Gains & losses

2008 Re-Signings :
| Player | Until the end of |
| Chris Melling | 2009 |
| Matt Gafa | 2008 |
| Karl Temata | 2008 |
| Jon Grayshon | 2008 |
| Rikki Sheriffe | 2008 |
| Henry Paul | 2008 |
| Chad Randall | 2009 |
2008 Losses :
| Player | Signed for | Fee |
| Lee Hopkins | Retiring | n/a |
| Paul Sykes | Bradford Bulls | undisclosed |
| Tyrone Smith | CA Brumbies | released |
| David Mills | Hull Kingston Rovers | released |
| Andy Smith | Unknown | released |
2008 Gains :
| Player | Signed from | Fee |
| Henry Fa'afili | Warrington Wolves | out of contract |
| Gareth Haggerty | Salford City Reds | pre-contract agreement |
| Danny Ward | Hull Kingston Rovers | out of contract |

## Super League XIII table

Super League XIII :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | St. Helens (L) | 27 | 21 | 1 | 5 | 940 | 457 | +483 | 43 | Semi-final |
| 2 | Leeds Rhinos (C) | 27 | 21 | 0 | 6 | 863 | 413 | +450 | 42 | Semi-final |
| 3 | Catalans Dragons | 27 | 16 | 2 | 9 | 694 | 625 | +69 | 34 | Elimination semi-finals |
| 4 | Wigan Warriors | 27 | 13 | 3 | 11 | 648 | 698 | −50 | 29 | Elimination semi-finals |
| 5 | Bradford Bulls | 27 | 14 | 0 | 13 | 705 | 625 | +80 | 28 | Elimination semi-finals |
| 6 | Warrington Wolves | 27 | 14 | 0 | 13 | 690 | 713 | −23 | 28 | Elimination semi-finals |
| 7 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 27 | 11 | 1 | 15 | 564 | 713 | −149 | 23 | |
| 8 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | 27 | 11 | 0 | 16 | 574 | 760 | −186 | 22 | |
| 9 | Harlequins | 27 | 11 | 0 | 16 | 569 | 763 | −194 | 22 | |
| 10 | Huddersfield Giants | 27 | 10 | 1 | 16 | 638 | 681 | −43 | 21 | |
| 11 | Hull F.C. | 27 | 8 | 1 | 18 | 538 | 699 | −161 | 17 | |
| 12 | Castleford Tigers | 27 | 7 | 1 | 19 | 593 | 869 | −276 | 15 | |

## 2008 Fixtures/Results

2008 Engage Super League
| Rd | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Result (W/D/L) | Attendance |
| 1 | Harlequins RL | 28–47 | Wigan Warriors | L | 8,041 |
| 2 | Hull | 6–24 | Harlequins RL | W | 13,313 |
| 3 | Harlequins RL | 34–18 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | W | 3,176 |
| 4 | Castleford Tigers | 16–22 | Harlequins RL | W | 6,268 |
| 5 | Harlequins RL | 24–0 | Huddersfield Giants | W | 3,284 |
| 6 | | – | | . | — |
| 7 | | – | | . | — |
| CCC4 | | – | | . | — |
| 8 | | – | | . | — |
| 9 | | – | | . | — |
| 10 | | – | | . | — |
| 11 | | – | | . | — |
| 12 | | – | | . | — |
| 13 (a) | | – | | . | — |
| 14 | | – | | . | — |
| 15 | | – | | . | — |
| 16 | | – | | . | — |
| 17 | | – | | . | — |
| 18 | | – | | . | — |
| 19 | | – | | . | — |
| 20 | | – | | . | — |
| 21 | | – | | . | — |
| 22 | | – | | . | — |
| 23 | | – | | . | — |
| 24 | | – | | . | — |
| 25 | | – | | . | — |
| 26 | | – | | . | — |
| 27 | | – | | . | — |
| ESL PO1 | | – | | . | — |
| ESL PO2 | | – | | . | — |
| ESL PO3 | | – | | . | — |
| ESL GF | | – | | . | — |

### Notes

    (a) Round 13 played at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.
    (b) engage Super League Grand Final to be played at Old Trafford, Manchester.