Aaron Lester

Aaron Lester (born 16 May 1973) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer. His preferred position was hooker.

Aaron Lester
Personal information
Full nameAaron Lester
Born (1973-05-16) 16 May 1973
Playing information
Height180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight94 kg (207 lb; 14 st 11 lb)
PositionHooker
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1994 Auckland City Vulcans 20 9 0 0 36
1996 Auckland Warriors 3 0 0 0 0
1997–07 Whitehaven
Total 23 9 0 0 36
Source: RLP

His brother, Stuart, played for Wigan.

New Zealand

A Junior Kiwi in 1992,[1] Lester went on to play for the New Zealand Residents in 1994. An Ellerslie junior, he played for the Auckland City Vulcans in the Lion Red Cup in 1994 before being signed to an Auckland Warriors development contract.[2] He debuted for the Warriors in the Australian Rugby League competition in 1996. He played 3 first grade games for the club, starting all of them at Hooker, however he was not re-signed for the 1997 season.

Whitehaven

Instead Lester moved to England, signing for the Whitehaven where he was to become a legend.[3] He went on play for the club for over ten years and formed a strong combination with fellow Kiwis David Fatialofa and Leroy Joe.[4] Lester was the captain of the side from 2000 until his retirement.[5] He led the side to their first ever final in 2004 when Whitehaven made the National League One Grand Final.[6] Injury, including a broken arm in 2006, slowed him down in later years.[7] He finally announced his retirement at the end of the 2007 season.[8] New coach Ged Stokes talked to Lester about coming out of retirement for the 2008 season, however he decided against it.[9]

Honoured at Whitehaven

Aaron Lester is a Whitehaven Hall Of Fame Inductee. He was named at hooker in Whitehaven's Immortals team.

References
  1. From Top Amateur to Haven Star, Peter Took it all in Good Humor Archived 20 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine The Whitehaven News, 26 March 2008
  2. Richard Becht. A New Breed Rising: The Warriors Winfield Cup Challenge. Auckland, HarperCollins, 1994. ISBN 1-86950-154-3. p.182
  3. History Archived 22 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine Whitehaven RL
  4. Souvenir Book for Kiwi Trio Archived 6 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine The Whitehaven News, 11 June 2008
  5. Invincible Edwards hangs up his boots The Independent, 14 April 2000
  6. Whitehaven rewarded with first ever final The Independent, 4 October 2000
  7. Three front men downed in Action Marras.co.uk, 12 February 2006
  8. Lester Deserves Medal of Honour The Whitehaven News, 5 July 2007
  9. Stokes talking to Lester about coming back Getnoticedonline, 9 May 2008
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