Hull FC have confirmed the appointment of former Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves man Jon Clarke as their new high performance consultant. Hull have been making changes to their backroom team as they prepare to welcome their new head coach John Cartwright in from Australia.
Clarke’s appointment follows the return of Andy Last as an assistant, and given the experience he boasts, it’s fair to say his addition comes as something of a coup for the Black and Whites.
The 45-year-old made over 350 appearances throughout his playing days with spells coming at Wigan, Warrington, London Broncos and Widnes Vikings, while he also earned three caps for Great Britain.
However, since hanging up his boots in 2014, Clarke has established himself as a highly thought of strength and conditioning coach, with the ex-hooker spending time working with Widnes and Warrington before stints with England rugby union and the British and Irish Lions. Most recently he has worked as a head of performance at NRL club Manly Sea Eagles.
“It’s going to be great to be able to work with a club like Hull FC for the next three years and I’m really grateful to Richie [Myler] and Carty for the opportunity,” Clarke said on his latest venture.
“There’s a lot of work ahead of us with the squad, especially in terms of strength and speed development. There’s also certainly work to be done to help keep our best players on the pitch and that is hopefully where I can help Tom Bennett and the rest of the high performance team to deliver.
“I’ve been involved with rugby league for 35 years, and I’ve been a head of performance internationally in both codes of rugby for the last ten years. Now I feel it is my opportunity to give something back to the game in a different way with this new role with Hull FC – one I am very much looking forward to.”
Hull FC director of rugby Myler added: “I’m really pleased to have brought Jon into the club. I can’t emphasise enough how much of a huge coup I think it is for the club.
“We’ve worked really hard to try and bring Jon in because we believe he will be able to have a strong impact on the playing group, but also help develop our own internal staff.
“Having played with Jon during my time at Warrington, I know him personally, and I am confident that he will be a great addition at the club, working closely with John Cartwright and our performance staff.”
