Catalans Dragons boss Steve McNamara revealed he has been tempted to sign Hull FC man Danny Houghton on a number of occasions over the years.
Houghton brought the curtain down on a remarkable career on Saturday with his final game as a player and his 451st game in the colours of Hull, coming against the Dragons at the MKM Stadium. Unfortunately, the skipper bowed out on a loss, with his final season being difficult to say the very least given the club’s fortunes on and off the field.
Houghton will go down as a modern day legend in west Hull, though, after playing an instrumental role in the club’s 2016 and 2017 Challenge Cup wins and winning the Super League Man of Steel award, too.
Of course, McNamara is from Hull and spent the first half of his playing career with the club before moving on to Bradford Bulls in 1996. As such, he has followed Houghton’s Super League career closely and he believes the hooker doesn’t get the credit he deserves for what he has given to both the club and the sport.
However, the head coach, who had a spell in charge of Bradford and worked as an assistant in the NRL before joining Catalans in 2017, also admitted that he has spoken about signing Houghton in the past.
“I think he’s had a brilliant career,” the Dragons boss said about Houghton on Saturday, per Hull Live. “When this team has been good, he’s been the cornerstone of this team, and when this team has been bad, he’s still been the cornerstone of this team.
“He’s been consistent, and I wish he could have finished on a season a lot better than this, but he’s going to go down in history there—the Wembley victories, his performances in those, and everything else he has down for this club; the number of games he’s played and his loyalty to this team and this city is immense.
“I for one don’t think he’s had the credit he should have had. At certain stages of my coaching career, I’ve thought about trying to bring Danny Houghton to our teams, but it’s not quite happened. I think he’s picked the right moment. He knows it’s time, but I can’t speak more highly of him in terms of his loyalty, commitment, and standard of play.”
