OUR signing of big, strong, winger Patrick Ah Van, former star of Super League, holder of five international caps for Samoa and once a prolific try scorer for Bradford Bulls and Widnes Vikings, has caused Roughyeds coach Stu Littler, like our fans, to be ’excited’ at the prospect of seeing him in an Oldham jersey.
Born in New Zealand, and now aged 34, Patrick played for Bradford and Widnes in their big-time days, scoring 73 tries and 56 goals for Widnes (404 points) in 99 games between 2012 and 2018 and, before that, another nine tries and 87 goals (210 points) in 26 games for the Bulls in 2011.
Of Samoan and Chinese descent, he played in the Auckland Rugby League in his formative years, representing New Zealand under-16s; the Junior Kiwis, whom he captained in 2007; and New Zealand Residents.
He ultimately joined New Zealand Warriors, for whom he made his debut against Manly Sea Eagles, going on to better things with more than 50 appearances before coming to the North of England to sign for the Bulls.
After one season there, he transferred to Widnes and he is probably best known for what he achieved in his long stay there.
His last two seasons were spent with North Wales Crusaders.
Said Littler:
“We are delighted to get Patrick’s signing over the line, He is very experienced and he has a great knowledge of the game. He’s also very durable, having missed very few games wherever he played,
“He’s a big unit who can cover several positions such as wing, centre, half-back or second-row. Playing on the wing, he was a real thorn in our side when we played against Cru last season
“We are vert excited at the prospect if seeing him in an Oldham jersey.
“Chris (Hamilton) and I met him for signing talks and he was really keen to know what our aspirations are for next season.”
There will be a lot more signings still to come to complete the squad for 2023, so watch this website and our social media channels for the latest updates.
NOTE: In par 2 of this story we give Ah Van’s scoring stats for Widnes Vikings. They were scored in Super League only. His overall record for Widnes was 95 tries and 73 goals in 123 games, including five games in 2019 when he returned to the club to play for free following the club’s period of administration.
