Adrian Lam facts for kids
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Personal information
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| Born | 25 August 1970 Rabaul, Papua New Guinea |
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| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 12 st 0 lb (76 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Playing information
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| Position | Scrum-half | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Coaching information
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As of 18 November 2021
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| Relatives | Lachlan Lam (son) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Adrian Lam (born 25 August 1970) is a professional rugby league coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the Super League club Leigh Leopards.
Adrian played for the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League and the Wigan Warriors in the Super League. He also represented his home country, Papua New Guinea. He played for the Queensland State of Origin team and the Rest of the World team.
He was the head coach for Papua New Guinea from 2007 to 2012. He also worked as an assistant coach for Australia in the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.
Contents
Early Life and Background
Adrian Lam was born on August 25, 1970, in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea. His mother was from Liverpool, England, and moved to Australia as a child. She met Adrian's father, who was Chinese-Papua New Guinean, in Rabaul.
When Adrian was seven years old, his family moved to Brisbane in Queensland, Australia.
Playing Career Highlights
Adrian Lam had a very successful playing career. He played in 14 State of Origin matches for Queensland. In 1995, he was named man-of-the-match in the third game of the series.
He first played for Papua New Guinea in 1994. He played 11 games for his country, scoring 3 tries and kicking 1 field goal. In 1996, he was the captain of the 'Papua New Guinea National Rugby League Team' when they played against Australia.
In 1997, Adrian also captained the 'Rest of the World' team against Australia. He led the Papua New Guinea team, known as the Kumuls, to the quarter-finals in the 2000 Rugby League World Cup. He played as a halfback for the Sydney Roosters in their 2000 NRL Grand Final match, where they were defeated by the Brisbane Broncos.
Adrian played a total of 146 club games for the Sydney Roosters. During his time there, he scored 42 tries and kicked 6 field goals. He also played 119 first-team games for Wigan Warriors. For Wigan, he scored 44 tries, kicked 1 goal, and 10 field goals. This included a try in their 2001 Super League Grand Final loss to the Bradford Bulls.
Adrian Lam is one of only a few players who have played for Queensland in State of Origin and also for another country besides Australia. He is also the only player to have been captain of a Queensland team and captain of a national team other than Australia.
Coaching Career Journey
Adrian Lam became the coach of the Papua New Guinea Kumuls national rugby league team in 2007. He led them during their 2008 Rugby League World Cup campaign. He left his role as Kumuls' coach in 2009 after a disagreement with the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League.
In June 2007, he was chosen as the first coach for the new QRL Wizard Queensland Cup team, Northern Pride, based in Cairns. However, just three months later, he was offered a job as an assistant coach at the NRL Sydney Roosters. He joined their new coach, Brad Fittler, in Sydney before the Pride's first game.
In 2009, Adrian moved to the St. George Illawarra Dragons to work as an assistant coach under Wayne Bennett. He then became the coach of the St George-Illawarra Dragons Under 20s team in 2010 and 2011. He returned to coach Papua New Guinea again in 2012.
Coaching Wigan Warriors
Adrian Lam returned to Wigan Warriors in 2019 as their temporary Head Coach. Later in 2019, he became the full-time coach for Wigan, signing for another year. This happened after Shaun Edwards decided not to join Wigan for 2020.
In 2020, Adrian coached Wigan to win the League Leaders Shield. He also guided them to the 2020 Super League Grand Final against St Helens. Wigan lost that game 8-4 after St Helens scored a try right at the end. Adrian was visibly upset during interviews after the match.
In 2021, Wigan had some tough games under Adrian's coaching. In Round 20 of the 2021 Super League season, Wigan lost to St Helens 2-26 at the DW Stadium. This was the first time in the club's history, since moving to the DW Stadium in 1999, that they failed to score a single try. The next week, in Round 21, Wigan lost at home to Leeds 0-14. This was the first time in the Super League era that Wigan had not scored any points at home.
On August 31, 2021, after a series of difficult results, Adrian announced he would leave Wigan at the end of the 2021 season. He had been in charge for three seasons. Adrian's final game coaching Wigan was in the first week of the 2021 Playoffs Series against Leeds, where Wigan lost 8-0.
Coaching Leigh Leopards
On November 17, 2021, Adrian Lam was announced as the head coach of the Betfred Championship team Leigh Centurions. He took over from interim head coach Kurt Haggerty.
On October 3, 2022, Adrian coached Leigh to a victory in the Million Pound Game against Batley. This win meant the club was promoted back to the Super League. Adrian achieved a "double" in his first full season as Leigh coach, as the club also won the RFL 1895 Cup.
On August 12, 2023, Adrian led Leigh to win the 2023 Challenge Cup final against Hull Kingston Rovers. This was Leigh's first major trophy in 52 years. Adrian guided Leigh to finish fifth in the 2023 Super League season. However, Leigh was knocked out in the first week of the playoffs by Hull Kingston Rovers.
Family Life
Adrian Lam has two sons, Lachlan Lam and Bailey Lam. His son Lachlan Lam is also a professional rugby player. Lachlan represents Papua New Guinea and plays for the Leigh Leopards, the same team his father coaches.
Awards and Achievements
Adrian Lam has won many awards both as a player and as a coach.
As a Player
Wigan Warriors
- Challenge Cup
- Winners (1): 2002
Queensland
- State of Origin
- Winners (2): 1995, 1999
Individual Player Awards
- Super League Dream Team
- Winners (3): 2001, 2002, 2003
- RLWBA Player of the Year:
- Winners (1): 2002
As a Head Coach
Wigan Warriors
- League Leaders' Shield
- Winners (1): 2020
Leigh Leopards
- Challenge Cup
- Winners (1): 2023
- RFL Championship
- Winners (1): 2022
- Championship Leaders' Shield
- Winners (1): 2022
- RFL 1895 Cup
- Winners (1): 2022
Individual Coach Awards
- Super League Coach of the Year
- Winners (1): 2023
