Hull FC have confirmed the appointment of former Warrington Wolves star Simon Grix as assistant coach ahead of the 2024 Betfred Super League campaign.
A highly-rated young coach, Grix links up with Tony Smith’s coaching department having spent five seasons at the helm with Betfred Championship side Halifax Panthers.
The now 38-year-old began his tenure in charge of the West Yorkshire side during the 2019 campaign, leading the side to the Challenge Cup Semi-Finals – the first Championship side to reach that stage of the competition since 2006, before back-to-back third placed finishes in the league in 2021 and 2022.
Earlier this season, he led Fax to Wembley success in the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup, beating Batley 12-10 at the national stadium.
Grix, a former Ireland international, made over 200 senior appearances in an impressive playing career, starting at Fax in 2002 before nine seasons at Warrington Wolves between 2004 and 2014, helping the Wire on their way to several major finals and three Challenge Cup successes under Tony Smith.
Speaking to hullfc.com, Grix said: “Halifax has been a great place for me to work and learn in the last few years. All of the players and the staff have been a pleasure to work with, and in truth, I could have stayed for a few more years, but I want to be in the coaching game for a while and the opportunity to continue learning with Hull FC is a massive one for me.
“Tony (Smith) is tried and tested. He’s one of the most experienced coaches in Rugby League and that can only be a positive thing for my own personal development as a coach.
“In my last twelve months at Warrington, I was on the side line for the majority of the time because I broke my leg, so I got to spend a lot of time around Tony just through not playing.
“One of the things that I’m looking forward to at Hull is the day-to-day development with players. At Halifax, where they only train in the evening, it’s difficult to be able to dissect everything as coaching staff and go through it fully in detail, whereas at Hull, it’s a full-time environment where you can critique one another and really get better from it.
“There is a great coaching team at Hull, with Tony and Stanley Gene. I know Michael Shenton and Pete Riding are doing some really good stuff behind the scenes with the youth, so it’s going to be great to work with such an experienced group of coaches.”
He continued: “During my time at Warrington, Tony was really focused on bringing some good, quality youngsters through and that’s something I’m really looking forward to being a part of here at Hull. It’s going to be exciting to be a part of their journeys.
“I’ve been following the results of the Academy and Reserves teams for Hull this year and I’ve been really impressed with what they’ve been doing.
“I think Tony will want me to get hands-on straightaway with the group. Tony likes to step back in training sessions and look at the whole picture, so myself and Stan will be getting into the detail and the technical side of things, which will allow Tony to make sure he can get people’s headspaces in the right place to ensure they’re performing at their very best.
“I won’t be coming in to be an individual. I love being a pack animal and I love being part of a team. I know the club is going through a process of transition at the moment, and sometimes that can take time to settle, but it certainly feels like it’s moving in the right direction now.
“I’ll be sharing my knowledge with everybody that I possibly can at the club. I played in a lot of positions during my playing career in a bit of a utility role, so I just want to use that experience to try and help everyone be a little bit better every single day.”
Hull FC head coach, Tony Smith, added: “I coached Simon for a few years as a player at Warrington, but since he has retired from playing, I have watched him blossom into a fantastic, young British Rugby League coach.
“He has done a fantastic job at Halifax. He’s made regular visits to wherever I have been coaching throughout my career, which demonstrates his keenness to develop his own coaching methods.
“We’re hopeful that Simon will be able to come in and apply some of the things he has learned in the last few years.
“Simon is as competitive as a coach as he was as a player, and having his input of values can only be a good thing for our club.”
