Jon Clarke (rugby league)
 | ||||||
| Personal information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jonathan Clarke | |||||
| Born | 4 April 1979 Lowton, near Leigh, England | |||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | |||||
| Weight | 15 st 6 lb (98 kg)[1] | |||||
| Playing information | ||||||
| Position | Hooker | |||||
| Club | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 1997–99 | Wigan Warriors | 28 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 2000–01 | London Broncos | 30 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 2001–11 | Warrington Wolves | 234 | 69 | 72 | 0 | 420 |
| 2012–14 | Widnes Vikings | 47 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Total | 339 | 80 | 72 | 0 | 464 | |
| Representative | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 2007 | Great Britain | 2 | 0 | |||
| As of 30 April 2014 | ||||||
Jon Clarke (born 4 April 1979) is a former rugby league footballer who played as a hooker for Wigan Warriors, London Broncos, Warrington Wolves and Widnes Vikings.
Clarke was the Super League's most effective tackler in 2004. He is a physical hooker with an infectious competitive spirit, Clarke's versatility saw him switch between dummy half and back row with great success. Generally used as Warrington's starting no.9, he hits big in the early part of the game and is a strong defender from marker. He was Super League's most effective tackler in 2004 with a 99% success rate, and was fourth highest tackler in the competition in 2005.
Represented Great Britain Academy as Captain whilst coming through the junior ranks at Wigan, he played in their 1997 Premiership Final winning side against St Helens. Followed his ex-Wigan coach John Monie to London Broncos in 2000, but returned north during the 2001 season when Warrington were forced to sign a hooker on loan to solve an injury crisis. Made an instant impact with some courageous performances against top sides to earn a permanent deal at the club, and has grown into a stalwart of Paul Cullen's Warrington.
In June 2007, Clarke was called up to the Great Britain squad for the Test match against France[2] He is extremely popular with the Wire fans, especially the females, because of his distinctive flowing dark locks.
Recently the Wire fans voted him 'Greatest Hooker' in Wire's history, beating John Thursfield and Mark Roskell into 2nd and 3rd place.
He has been forced to rule himself out contention for the England training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup through injury.[3]
Clarke played for Warrington in the 2010 Challenge Cup Final victory over Leeds.[4]
It was announced on 6 September 2011 that Clarke would be joining Widnes in their forthcoming return to Super League On signing, Clarke told the fans. "Widnes are an ambitious club and I'm an ambitious player. The goals I had as an 18 year-old making his way in the game are still the same to this day, and ultimately that is to perform to the best of my ability every single week both on and off the pitch. I've had ten fantastic years at Warrington but the time has now come for me to part company with the club and move onto the next chapter of my career. Before I do that, I'll be doing my utmost to make sure that I can go out on a high and finish my time there on the right note."
Clarke retired at the end of the 2014 season, and joined the coaching staff at Widnes.[5]
References
- ↑ "The official Engage Super League web site". web page. Super League. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ↑ "Eight new faces in Lions squad". BBC. 2007-06-12. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
- ↑ "Deacon pulls out of England squad". BBC. 2008-09-16. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
- ↑ "Leeds 6-30 Warrington". BBC. 2010-08-28. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
- ↑ "Jon Clarke added to Widnes Vikings coaching staff". BBC Sport. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2015.