Ex-Warrington Wolves man Gareth Widdop has confirmed that he has officially stepped back into retirement after his release from Halifax Panthers. Widdop made the decision to hang his boots up at the end of the 2023 Super League season after leaving Castleford Tigers.
However, just a couple of months later the half-back agreed to go around once more with hometown club Halifax Panthers. He penned a one-year deal with the Championship outfit and went on to make 23 appearances for the club.
He scored seven tries in that time, including a brace in his penultimate outing at The Shay, but was powerless to prevent the Panthers from finishing six points short of the Championship play-offs.
He left the club at the end of the campaign and he has now confirmed that he is retired once and for all. It brings an end to a career that saw him make 289 appearances during spells in the NRL and Super League. He also collected 28 caps for England and four for Great Britain, with the 35-year-old being a regular on the international stage during his career.
Widdop started his career with Melbourne Storm after making the move to Australia at the age of 17. He won the NRL Grand Final in 2012 before moving on to join St George Illawarra Dragons. He signed for Warrington Wolves in 2020 before ending his career with season long spells with Castleford and Fax.
And, after 15 years in the game, Widdop has confirmed that last season was his last.
“I finished up at Halifax this year,” Widdop said on James Graham’s The Bye Round Podcast. “It was an experience and something that I suppose I’d always had in the back of my mind, pulling on a Halifax jersey. I’m a lad from Halifax and they did a lot for me as a young kid.
“I thought it would be a nice way to finish off and hopefully help the town. It was a tough year for many reasons but I enjoyed it and there was about 10 or 11 lads from Halifax who I used to play against, so it was good for the town.
“I think this body has had too much hammer over the years so the boots are on the peg.
“That’ll be it now. I’d like to stay in the game in some capacity. When you finish up with football you’re not sure what path to go down and take, it’s all I’ve known for a long period of time now.
“Certainly I’d like to stay in the game and I have a couple of things away from the game that I’ve been involved in which is really good and half the reason I’m back here (in Australia). There’s bits and bobs going on over the next couple of months that I’m really excited for.”
