Oliver Gildart

Oliver Patrick Gildart (born 6 August 1996) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre for the Dolphins in the Australian National Rugby League.

Oliver Gildart
Gildart in 2022
Personal information
Full nameOliver Patrick Gildart
Born (1996-08-06) 6 August 1996
Hindley, Greater Manchester, England
Height181 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight86 kg (13 st 8 lb)
Playing information
PositionCentre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015–21 Wigan Warriors 142 64 0 0 256
2015(loan) → Workington Town 2 0 0 0 0
2015(loan) → Salford Red Devils 3 1 0 0 4
2022 Wests Tigers 8 1 0 0 4
2022(loan) → Sydney Roosters 2 0 0 0 0
2023– Dolphins 0 0 0 0 0
Total 157 66 0 0 264
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2018 England 3 1 0 0 4
2019 Great Britain 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1][2]
As of 15 Aug 2022

He has previously played for the Wests Tigers and Sydney Roosters in the NRL, the Wigan Warriors in the Super League, and spent time on loan from Wigan at Workington Town in the Kingstone Press Championship and the Salford Red Devils in the Super League. Gildart has also played for England and Great Britain at international level.

Gildart was the winner of the 2017 Super League Young Player Of The Year. He won the 2016 and the 2018 Super League Grand Final with Wigan.

Early life

Gildart was born in Hindley, Greater Manchester, England to parents Claire[3] and Ian, a former professional rugby league footballer for Wigan, Wakefield, and Oldham.[4] He is of Italian descent through his mother, and is eligible to represent the Italian national team.[5]

Club career

2015

A product of Wigan's junior system, Gildart made his Super League début on loan for Salford Red Devils in 2015, making a total of three appearances before returning to his parent club.[6] He made his début for Wigan in the Super 8s match against Warrington Wolves on 21 August 2015, scoring a try. He then kept his place in the Wigan team for the remainder of the 2015 season, including an appearance in the 2015 Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford in only his tenth career match.[7][8]

2016

Gildart continued to show promise throughout the course of the 2016 season. One of the signature tries of the year was scored by him in an away match in Perpignan as he straightened up the line and seared his way to the try-line after a flowing length-of-the-field attack by Wigan. He became a fixture in the centres for Wigan. Gildart scored a try in the 2016 Super League Grand Final against the Warrington Wolves which brought Wigan level at 6–6 before they'd go on to win 12–6 at Old Trafford.[9]

2017

He was also part of the Wigan team who defeated NRL champions, the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 22–6 to win the World Club Challenge, which ensured Oliver would join father Ian (who was an interchange in the 1987 and 1991 wins) as a World Club Challenge medal winner. Oliver also scored a try in that game. After starting the season is great form he broke three vertebrae in his back following a Brett Ferres 'crusher' tackle. Gildart was ruled out for three months. He returned with a try against the Leigh Centurions on 8 June. He scored a few weeks later against the Warrington Wolves followed by a brace against Leeds. In the Challenge Cup semi-final against Salford he scored another brace and went on to score another try in the 2017 Challenge Cup Final defeat by Hull F.C. at Wembley Stadium.[10]

Against traditional rivals St. Helens he scored the opening try followed by a slick move within the first two minutes. Just a few moments later following a Ben Barba mistake he raced 40 yards to complete his brace.

2018

He played in the 2018 Super League Grand Final victory over the Warrington Wolves at Old Trafford.[11]

2019

Gildart played 32 games for Wigan in 2019 including their shock semi-final loss against Salford.[12]

2020
Gildart playing for the Western Suburbs Magpies in 2022

Gildart played in the 2020 Super League Grand Final which Wigan lost 8–4 against St Helens.[13]

2021

On 31 May, Gildart signed a two-year deal to join NRL side, the Wests Tigers.[14]

In round 10 of the 2021 Super League season, Gildart scored two tries for Wigan in a 18–8 defeat against Hull Kingston Rovers.[15]

2022

In round 1 of the 2022 NRL season, Gildart made his club debut for the Wests Tigers in their 26–16 loss against Melbourne.[16]

In round 9, he scored his first try in the NRL during a 36–22 loss against Manly at Brookvale Oval.[17]

On 31 July, Gildart joined the Sydney Roosters on a loan deal which would go to the end of the 2022 NRL season.[18] He scored five tries on his debut for North Sydney in their 60-4 NSW Cup win over Newcastle.[19]

On 28 October, Gildart was released early from his contract with a year left from the West Tigers.[20]

A one-year contract with the Dolphins for 2023 was subsequently confirmed.[21]

2023

He started his Dolphins career in a pre-season trials match on the wing.

Gildart post match for England in 2018
Further information: List of Dolphins (NRL) players

International career

In July 2018 he was selected in the England Knights Performance squad.[22]

He was selected in squad for the 2019 Great Britain Lions tour of the Southern Hemisphere.[23] He made his Great Britain test debut in the defeat by Tonga.[24]

Career Stats
Club Season Appearances Tries Goals F/G MoM Points
Wigan Warriors 2015 7 4 0 0 0 16
Workington Town 2015 2 0 0 0 0 0
Salford Red Devils 2015 3 1 0 0 1 4
Wigan Warriors 2016 30 12 0 0 1 48
2017 20 15 0 0 0 60
Wests Tigers 2022 8 1 0 0 0 4
Sydney Roosters 2022 2 0 0 0 0 0
Dolpins 2023*
Total 62 32 0 0 2 128

*denotes season competing [25]

Further information: List of Dolphins (NRL) players

References
  1. loverugbyleague
  2. "Oliver Gildart". Rugby League Project.
  3. Wilkinson, Phil (24 May 2017). "Warriors star's mum and sister, 10, were caught up in terror attack". Wigan Today. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  4. "Oliver follows in dad's rugby bootsteps". Leigh Journal. 26 December 2012.
  5. Wilkinson, Phil (30 March 2017). "Gildart aims to take centre stage". Wigan Today. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  6. Wilkinson, Phil (13 May 2015). "Centre Gildart gained a lot from Salford stint". Wigan Today.
  7. Walker, Gareth (8 October 2015). "Wigan starlet Oliver Gildart grew up around rugby league silverware – now he wants some of his own". Mirror.
  8. "Leeds pip Wigan to seal treble after brilliant, breathless Grand Final". Guardian. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  9. "Warrington 6-12 Wigan: Super League Grand Final – as it happened!". Guardian. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  10. "Hull FC 18-14 Wigan recap as the Black and Whites claim back-to-back Challenge Cup triumphs". Mirror. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  11. "Super League Grand Final 2018: Wigan 12-4 Warrington – as it happened". Guardian. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  12. "Salford seal maiden Super League Grand Final appearance". www.skysports.com.
  13. "Super League Grand Final: Wigan 4-8 St Helens". BBC Sport.
  14. "Wigan Warriors centre to join West Tigers in NRL next season". www.skysports.com.
  15. "Wigan Warriors 8-18 Hull Kingston Rovers". BBC Sport.
  16. "Melbourne Storm fight back to down Wests Tigers 26-16 after Newcastle, St George Illawarra record NRL wins". ABC News. 12 March 2022.
  17. "North Queensland defeats Newcastle 36-16 for fourth straight NRL win as Sydney Roosters and Manly post victories". ABC News. 7 May 2022.
  18. "Oliver Gildart joins Roosters on short-term deal from Wests Tigers". www.sportingnews.com. August 2022.
  19. "NRL Round 23: Five standout performers from NSW Cup and QLD Cup". www.sportingnews.com. 14 August 2022.
  20. McAllister, Josh (27 October 2022). "Wests Tigers release England international Oliver Gildart". LoveRugbyLeague. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  21. "The Dolphins confirm the signing of Oliver Gildart after he was released by Wests Tigers". 31 October 2022.
  22. "Ten new additions in England Knights squad". loverugbyleague. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  23. "Zak Hardaker shock inclusion in 24-man Great Britain squad for tour of New Zealand and Papua New Guinea". Telegraph. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  24. "Great Britain left bruised at Tonga party". Times. 26 October 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  25. https://www.nrl.com/players/nrl-premiership/dolphins/oliver-gildart/
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