Aaron Whittaker

Aaron Whittaker (born 9 July 1968 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a former professional rugby league footballer. A New Zealand international representative halfback, he played club football in Australia, England and New Zealand.

Whittaker grew up in Christchurch and was a Schoolboy Kiwi in 1983 before becoming part of the dominant Canterbury rugby league side of the early nineties. The side was coached by Frank Endacott and included future stars such as Whetu Taewa, Quentin Pongia and Brent Stuart. In Christchurch he played for two clubs, the Halswell Hornets and the Riccarton Knights.

His form was impressive enough to land a contract in the NSWRL Premiership, signing with the Illawarra Steelers in 1992. Whittaker played in three games for the club, including a try-scoring effort against the Great Britain touring side, returning to New Zealand at the end of the year.

In 1993 Whittaker was selected for the New Zealand Kiwis. He went on to play thirteen games for the national side, although only three were test matches. During this time he trained with Gary Freeman and Daryl Halligan and this allowed him to improve his halfback and goal kicking skills. In 1994 he was part of the Kiwis tour of Papua New Guinea. Between 1990 and 1994 he played in 17 games for Canterbury, scoring thirteen tries.

In 1994 he played for the Canterbury Cardinals in the new Lion Red Cup and at the half way stage was the competitions leading points scorer. As a result, he began to attract interest from overseas clubs and agreed to a mid-season transfer, joining Wakefield Trinity. He returned to the Cardinals in the English offseason and played in part of the 1995 Lion Red Cup.