Mikołaj Olędzki

Mikołaj Olędzki (usually Anglicised to Mikolaj Oledzki) (born 11 August 1998) is an England international rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League.[3]

Mik Oledzki
Personal information
Full nameMikołaj Olędzki
Born (1998-08-11) 11 August 1998
Gdańsk, Poland
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight17 st 9 lb (112 kg)
Playing information
PositionProp
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2017– Leeds Rhinos 113 11 0 0 44
2017(loan) → Bradford Bulls 20 1 0 0 4
2017(loan) → Featherstone Rovers 2 0 0 0 0
2018(loan) → Featherstone Rovers 3 0 0 0 0
Total 138 12 0 0 48
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2018 England Knights 2 0 0 0 0
2021–22 England 2 0 0 0 0
Source: [1][2]
As of 14 October 2022

Oledzki has spent time on loan from Leeds at the Bradford Bulls and Featherstone Rovers in the Championship.

Background

Oledzki was born in Gdańsk. He then moved to the UK when he was nine years old. Oledzki's family settled initially in Corby, Northamptonshire. He then began to excel at swimming, appearing for Northamptonshire's county team from a young age. But when they moved closer to his uncle in Leeds, he discovered rugby league.[4]

He is the only Polish rugby league footballer to play in the Super League, and the second Polish player to the play the professional game ever, after rugby union player Grzegorz Kacała briefly switched to league to play for Paris St-Germain in 1996.[4]

Playing career

Leeds Rhinos

In 2017 he made his début for Leeds against Doncaster in the fifth round of the Challenge Cup, scoring a try in the 63rd minute of a 64–28 win. On 17 October 2020, he played in the 2020 Challenge Cup Final victory for Leeds over Salford at Wembley Stadium.[5] He played a total of 15 games for Leeds in the 2021 Super League season including the club's 36–8 loss against St Helens in the semi-final.[6]

On 24 September 2022, he played for Leeds in their 24-12 loss to St Helens RFC in the 2022 Super League Grand Final.[7] Oledzki was named in the 2022 Betfred Super League Dream Team at prop Oledzki played a total of 21 games for Leeds in the 2023 Super League season as the club finished 8th on the table and missed the playoffs.[8]

Bradford Bulls

He joined Bradford on a loan deal in February 2017. He featured in Round 1 (Hull Kingston Rovers).

Featherstone Rovers

While on a dual-registration Oledzki has played for Featherstone Rovers during the season 2017, and 2018.

International career

In July 2018, he was selected in the England Knights Performance squad.[9] Later that year he was selected for the England Knights on their tour of Papua New Guinea. He played against Papua New Guinea at the Oil Search National Football Stadium.[10]

In 2019, he was selected for the England Knights against Jamaica at Headingley Rugby Stadium.[11]

In October 2021, he made his Test debut for England against France.[12] He was named in England's World Cup squad.[13]

Personal life

He attended Mount St. Mary's Catholic High School in Leeds between 2010 and 2015. He studied at Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form in Leeds and won their 'Sports Person of the Year Award' for his efforts in the sport of Rugby League with the Leeds Rhinos.

In January 2018, Oledzki announced via Instagram that he and his partner are expecting their first child.

References
  1. Ferguson, Shawn Dollin and Andrew. "Mlkolaj Oledzki – Career Stats & Summary – Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.
  2. "Player Summary: Mikołaj Olędzki". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  3. "England Knights v Jamaica". WWOS. 20 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  4. Bower, Aaron (29 January 2018). "Mikolaj Oledzki: 'A rugby league player from Poland? This isn't really heard of'". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  5. "Leeds beat Salford 17-16 after Luke Gale lands late winning drop-goal". www.bbc.co.uk.
  6. "Super League semi-final: St Helens beat Leeds to reach Grand Final – as it happened". www.bbc.co.uk.
  7. "St Helens sink Leeds to win record fourth consecutive Grand Final". www.theguardian.com.
  8. "Leeds Rhinos' 2023 season review: picking out the best and worst players, performances, results". www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk.
  9. "Ten new additions in England Knights squad". loverugbyleague. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  10. "Papua New Guinea vs England Knights". WWOS. 3 November 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  11. "England Knights vs Jamaica". WWOS. 20 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  12. "England debutants proud to be part of rugby league's multicultural heritage". The Guardian. 22 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  13. "Wane Names England World Cup Squad". Leeds Rhinos. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
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