Bradford Bulls boss Brian Noble has spoken on the career of former Super League and England star Chris Hill and hailed his impact during his short time at the club.
Hill will retire at the end of the season after making his debut for the then Leigh Centurions in 2005. He went on to make over 530 career appearances at club level, and a further 41 on the international stage.
After moving from Leigh to Warrington in 2011, where he would play 297 matches, he moved to Huddersfield Giants in 2022 for three seasons, and almost won a third Challenge Cup but fell short at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against Wigan in 2022.
In 2025, he moved to Salford Red Devils, but financial issues forced him to leave the club, which is where he joined the Bulls to finish his career. Hill, who turns 38 in November, has featured five times since returning to West Yorkshire, and has been named in Bradford’s 21-man squad to face Toulouse Olympique in the Championship playoff semi-final this Saturday.
During an interview with Bulls TV previewing Saturday’s clash, coach Noble was asked to summarise Hill as a player, as he praised his incredible career in the sport.
Noble said: “Just look at his numbers and his international numbers. Everybody who has picked him has respected him and understands what he does. He’s 37, 38 whatever he is and he’s still producing high performance, and the fact he’s pulling the pin, I think he thought long and hard about it and made a conscious decision.
“I think we’d love to take him out on a high. It’s under no illusions that the Championship’s a tough division and Super League he’s played all his career there. So I have nothing but admiration for him. When I secured his services for the Bulls towards the back end of the year, I knew he’d be an asset and he is an asset. He’ll have a big influence on what we do on Saturday.
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When Hill was announced as a Bulls player, Noble was asked at the time whether he’d want to keep the former Warrington man around for longer than this year, in which he agreed. With that in mind, the experienced coach was asked whether there were any conversations as to trying to talk Hill out of retirement. However, the former England boss admitted he chose not to try and persuade his experienced prop.
He said: “Once somebody starts thinking about retirement, they’re retired for me. So the moment he told me he was thinking about it I said ‘Well, I think we’re agreed, Chris. You’re done.’
“He’s the one that goes day in day out getting his body right. He understands the rigours of being a high performance athlete and as I say, I think once you’re thinking down those ways, he’s made a good decision.”
Should they emerge victorious at Odsal on Saturday, Bradford will face one of York Knights and Halifax Panthers in the Championship Grand Final. Hill has a potential two more matches left in what has been a prestigious and hugely successful career.
