TOM BRISCOE has confirmed this season will be the last of his career, saying: “I’m ready for the next chapter in my life now.”
The 34-year-old winger finishes his career where he started it, at Hull FC, having also played with distinction for Leeds Rhinos and Leigh Leopards in between.
Briscoe was also capped 15 times by England, scoring eleven tries, between 2009 and 2013, making his international debut at 19, just a year on from his first senior appearances with Hull.
While he played the most games for the Black and Whites, recently overtaking his tally of 208 for Leeds, it was at other clubs where he tasted most success.
He won Super League twice with the Rhinos, in 2015 – part of a treble – and 2017, although he will be associated mostly with the Challenge Cup, in which he holds two records.
As well as the unmatched five-try haul in Leeds’ 50-0 win over Hull KR in 2015, which earned him the Lance Todd Trophy, he scored a try in each of his other Wembley successes – in 2014 against Castleford Tigers, in 2020 against Salford, then for Leigh, also against the Robins, in 2023 – to make him the top scorer in Challenge Cup finals.
Appropriately, his farewell game is set to be at AMT Headingley when Hull face Leeds in the final round of the regular season.
“To bring the curtain down at the club where it all started is a great way to bring things to an end,” said Briscoe.
“It’s a decision that’s been coming for a while, but it’s been really tough to come out and publicly announce my decision to retire after 19 years.
“I feel like this is the right decision for me and my family, and I’m ready for the next chapter in my life now.
“I started here as a young boy, and if you’d have told me I would still have been here nearly 20 years later, I think I’d have laughed at you.
“It’s been an amazing journey – the highest of highs that you can achieve in this sport, and some tough moments along the way too.
“I’m incredibly proud of what I have achieved, and I’m privileged to have been in the position I’ve been in this sport for so long.
“I feel like I’ve given everything I can to the sport, and to the clubs I have represented along the way. To look back and know I have achieved childhood dreams makes me feel incredibly lucky.”
Briscoe recently completed a PhD in sports science at Leeds Beckett University, although he added: “I don’t know what’s next for me – I’ve got a few options lined up, but I’m excited for whatever that opportunity may be.”
With three rounds of the season to go, Briscoe’s career try-scoring record stands at 232 in 471 matches.
His 181 tries in Super League place him ninth in the list of competition top scorers.