Ciaran Toner was Keith Hill's first signing in the summer of 2008, having joined from Grimsby at the end of his contract.

He started his career as a Youth Team player at Tottenham Hotspur, and following loan spells at Peterborough United and Bristol Rovers he signed a permanent deal at Leyton Orient. 'Tones' spent two years at Brisbane Road, after which he joined Lincoln, playing at Sincil Bank for just one season. After a loan spell at Cambridge, Ciaran joined Grimsby where he had three years of playing as a first team regular before joining Dale.

He made his debut for Dale coming on as an Extra Time substitue against Oldham Athletic in the Carling Cup, and in the absence of a suspended Clark Keltie, nailed down a centre-midfield alongside captain Gary Jones. The Northern Irish international had to sit out for a month through injury, but re-gained his place towards the end of the season in time for Dale's play-off campaign. The 28 year-old signed with Dale for another year in the summer of 2009, having done enough to impress the management team in his first full season.