One of the modern day legends of rugby league, Gareth Ellis, has confirmed he is bringing the curtain down on his fantastic 21-year playing career and this time it is for good!
Ellis, 39, has called time on his career which began back in 1999, going on to play over 450 career games for both club and country.
The former Hull FC captain will take up a role on the club’s coaching staff next season.
After making over 100 appearances for Wakefield, Ellis moved on to Leeds Rhinos where he was part of the side who clinched back-to-back Super League Grand Final wins and a World Club Challenge triumph.
One of the most revered players in the modern era, Ellis headed down under in 2009 to play for Wests Tigers in the NRL, making a huge impact during his three-year stay, winning the club’s Player of the Year honour three years in succession and nominated for the Golden Boot award.
He returned to Super League in 2013 with the Black and Whites, playing in three Challenge Cup Finals.
Ellis became the first Hull FC captain to lift the Challenge Cup at Wembley in 2016 with a memorable win over Warrington, before repeating the feat 12-months later with victory against Wigan.
The 39-year-old was named in the Super League Dream Team for a fifth time in 2016, as well as being nominated for the Steve Prescott Man of Steel award alongside team-mate and eventual winner Danny Houghton.
Having originally retired at the end of the 2017 campaign, Ellis made a surprise return from retirement to play his 100th game for the club against Wigan as the club felt the effects of a significant number of injuries.
However, such was his continued impact on the team he continued to play on into 2020, making 28 further appearances before injury finally curtailed his swansong.
Ellis finished his career on 477 career appearances, including 33 international caps for England & Great Britain, and 88 career tries.
On the decision to retire at the end of the season, Ellis told hullfc.com:
“Now the dust has settled on our season, it seems the right time to officially confirm my second retirement.
“Whereas the decision to retire at the end of the 2017 season was very difficult and one I wrestled with for some time, as you can imagine this time around it was much more straight forward and something I have alluded to throughout this year’s campaign.
“With a young family and the advice of the people around me; my dad, staff at the club and coaches, I decided it was time to hang up the boots for a second time while continuing to train and focus on helping the team improve for the rest of the season.”
He continued, “I’m really grateful for the opportunity to come out of retirement – it feels like a more natural end to a 21 year career and a decision I’m much more content with this time around.
“The players kept me young and it was great to be back in the dressing room amongst the lads – something any retired player will tell you they miss the most. Having had the opportunity to experience life as a player for the past 18 months, I feel much better prepared for life after rugby.
“So many people have contributed to my career over the years, too many to thank individually, but I am extremely grateful for everyone’s support and very proud to have played for some great clubs, to represent my nation and to make so many good memories along the way.”
Ellis will stay with the club after retiring from playing, taking up a role on the club’s coaching staff and he can’t wait to get started.
He said: “The plan is now to pick up from where I left off in 2018 and take up a coaching role at the club which is something I’m really looking forward to.
“I’ll be trying to use my own experience as well as the little nuggets of advice given to me throughout my career that made the biggest impact on how I trained and played in order to be the best I could be.”
Meanwhile, paying tribute to the retiring Ellis, Hull FC’s Chief Executive, James Clark, also added:
“I’m sure I speak on behalf of everyone associated with our sport in thanking Gareth for his fantastic contribution to the game of rugby league, on and off the field, over such a long and influential period.
“Gareth has been the consummate professional throughout many years playing at the highest level for both club and country and has always carried himself with the utmost modesty, respect and credibility – which is a real sign of the man.
“He has achieved so much personal and team success over the last two decades, but probably more special, he has left a notable legacy and imprint on every club he has played at, which is why he is held in the highest esteem by so many people from across the game.
He added, “His influence on and off the field continues to be felt at our club and that is something which is incredibly hard to replace, whilst he will be forever remembered for that iconic moment at Wembley lifting the trophy in 2016.
“Gareth is one of life’s good guys with true family values and I am sure he is looking forward to being able to spend some quality time with Rachael and his family, who have been the constant support throughout his career.
“I would like to congratulate Gareth again on a fantastic and extremely memorable career and for being able to share part of that with us here at Hull FC.”
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