Clarke to hang up his boots at season’s end

James Gordon

Widnes captain Jon Clarke will hang up his boots at the end of the season.

Clarke, 35, has spent 18 seasons in Super League, coming through the ranks at Wigan, where he won the 1997 Premiership Final.

After a brief stint in the capital with London, Clarke spent the bulk of his career with Warrington, earning a testimonial for 10 years service, before moving on to Widnes upon their return to Super League in 2012.

He said: “The psychological toil of dealing with injuries and getting up the next morning after a game is tough these days!

“It’s true that I’m getting a few more niggles than I used to. My body is saying perhaps it’s time and my mind is telling me the same so I want to move to the next phase and a new chapter of my life, hopefully in Strength and Conditioning – that’s my goal.

“If somebody would have read a list about what I was going to achieve when I first started out as a 14-year-old at Wigan then I would have took it every day.”

Clarke has made 379 appearances in his career, including 56 for Widnes in three seasons with the club.