Jon Clarke to leave Warrington
Warrington have confirmed that head of performance Jon Clarke will leave his position at the end of the season to take up a role in English rugby union.
Clarke enjoyed a playing career from 1995 through to 2014, including 11 seasons at the Wolves.
Prior to joining Warrington, he played for Wigan, London and Widnes, before retiring in 2014. He returned to Warrington on the performance side in 2015 under then coach Tony Smith and ahead of this season, he was promoted to head of performance.
On his departure from Warrington, Clarke said: “I’ve been involved at Warrington for over 13 years so it’s been a massive part of my life and I’ve loved every minute of it.
“I had some great times as a player – particularly towards the back end when we started winning trophies – as well as making some unbelievable friends within the team, club and town.
I’ve had the time of my life doing this job. We have been to three finals in my time on the performance side, unfortunately we’ve lost them all up to now but hopefully we can put that right in October. I’ve gone on to meet some lads I didn’t know before coming back, have worked under Tony Smith for two years and then under Pricey’s (Steve Price) leadership and coaching which has undoubtedly been the best environment I’ve worked in to date. The club is very lucky to have Steve Price as head coach. He’s a phenomenal coach and the way he has handled this situation with me has been first class; I couldn’t hold him in any higher regard if I tried.
“I’ll be forever indebted to Rugby League and Warrington Wolves. The experiences I’ve had as a player and coach here are what have got me to this job now at international level. This is where Warrington Wolves as a club needs to be praised. It is never good to lose good staff but as a club we are creating a platform for developing top-class practitioners in strength and conditioning, nutrition, physiotherapy and coaching which shouldn’t go unnoticed.”
Warrington coach Steve Price added: “Since day one when I arrived Jon and I have formed a strong bond.
“I’ve come across a fair few heads of performance in my time and he’s certainly one of the best in that field. He’s extremely hard working and understands the intricacies of what high performance looks like.
“He understands Rugby League like no other and I’ve loved every minute of working with him. Jon’s an outstanding family man and on behalf of Warrington Wolves we wish him all the best.”