Charnley was born in Chorley, Lancashire, England on 26 June 1991. He originally started playing for Chorley Panthers and Then local amateurs Wigan St Patricks leading to Super League's Wigan Warriors.
Professional playing career
Charnley made numerous appearances for the Under 20s in 2010 before joining Blackpool Panthers on dual registration and then Hull Kingston Rovers on loan. He was a player around the fringes of a first team opportunity at Wigan before the possibility came to join Hull Kingston Rovers for a month. Injuries meant he was given the chance to play first team rugby by Hull KR coach Justin Morgan, making his Super League début. Charnley showed great promise on his début for Hull KR against Leeds in 2010 and picked up the club man of the match award. He scored five tries in five appearances which included a hat-trick in Hull KR's home win over Castleford, and the opening try in the derby clash with Hull FC.
Wigan Warriors
Charnley made his first team début for Wigan at Craven Park against Hull Kingston Rovers in August where he scored a try off the bench. He played on the wing in the 2011 Challenge Cup Final victory over the Leeds Rhinos at Wembley Stadium. Charnley scored the first try, and broke a bone in his hand in his side's victory over Leeds. Charnley made his International début for the England Knights in a friendly International against France in 2011. He scored 2 tries and kicked four goals on his début. He went on to make another Knights appearance against Cumbria one week later. In the 2012 Super League season Charnley he scored 31 tries to help Wigan to the League Leaders' Shield. This put Charnley in 3rd place in the all-time top try scorers in a regular season in the summer era as only Lesley Vainikolo and Danny McGuire, both in 2004, have scored more tries in a Super League regular season. Charnley made his senior International début for England against Wales in the 2012 Autumn International Series. Charnley scored 4 tries in his first appearance for England. Charnley then went onto an even better 2013 season helping Wigan Warriors to the double scoring a record-breaking 43 tries ranking him 1st. He played in the 2013 Challenge Cup Final victory over Hull F.C. at Wembley Stadium. He played in the 2013 Super League Grand Final victory over the Warrington Wolves at Old Trafford. He represented England in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup. Although the game ended in a 36-14 defeat for Wigan, Charnley scored two tries in the 2014 World Club Challenge against NRL champions Sydney Roosters. On 18 June 2014, he scored 5 tries in a 48-4 victory over Widnes Vikings. Despite missing two months of action due to a knee injury, Charnley still scored at a rate of over a try a game with 23 tries in 21 games in the 2014 season. He played in the 2014 Super League Grand Final defeat by St. Helens at Old Trafford. He represented England at the 2014 Four Nations. During the 2016 season, it was announced that Charnley would switch codes to join Sale Sharks at the end of the 2016 Super League season. Charnley signed off in style as he scored the winning try in the 2016 Super League Grand Final against the Warrington Wolves, chasing and touching down a beautifully weighted kick from Dan Sarginson at Old Trafford.
On 30- March 2016, Charnley makes the cross-code switch to Rugby Union with Manchester-based Sale Sharks who compete in the Aviva Premiership from the 2016-17 season. Charnley was not able to repeat his scoring success in Rugby Union that he enjoyed in Rugby League, scoring a meagre four tries in 32 games. Charnley then returned to Rugby League for the 2018 summer season. His last game in Rugby Union was against London Irish in February 2018.
