FORMER Wigan Warriors, Warrington Wolves and Widnes Vikings hooker Jon Clarke has returned to rugby league with NRL side Manly Sea Eagles.
Clarke has joined the Sea Eagles as Head of Performance, but he also achieved a decorated career as a player.
The wily hooker played 355 games in the Super League in England at Wigan, London Broncos, Warrington Wolves, and Widnes. He won a premiership in 1997 with Wigan.
He also played two Tests for Great Britain and won a Challenge Cup final with Warrington in 2010.
Upon retirement, Clarke became a strength and conditioning coach at Widnes, then rejoined Warrington as Head of Performance, before joining England Rugby for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa in 2021.
Clarke himself met current chief executive Tony Maestrov at Wigan and head coach Anthony Seibold at London Broncos.
“Tony came across to Wigan in 1998 when I was 17 or 18. He was a great front row signing for Wigan. He played really well under Coach John Monie.
“We both later joined the London Broncos, so there was a connection there already when I came to Manly. It was at the London Broncos when I first met ‘Seibs’. We had a year there. He was a front-rower. Our paths separated and came back together when ‘Seibs’ worked for England Rugby where I had been for a few years.
“We tried our hands at a different sport in union, which we loved. ‘Seibs’ then got the head coach role at Manly for 2023. We spoke a little bit about me coming over. This was always an ambition of mine to have a crack at the NRL. I never got the chance as a player, so this was an unbelievable opportunity.”
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