Richard Whiting will take part in this week’s AA Jones Legends Parade ahead of Saturday’s Betfred Challenge Cup Quarter-Final against St Helens.
Club Historian Bill Dalton looks back at his distinguished career…
Richard Whiting, a native of Featherstone, made his professional debut for his home town club in 2003, scoring a couple of tries in his 18 appearances.
His potential was soon appreciated by Hull FC and he signed prior to the 2004 season, going on to make his FC debut on 29th February in a Challenge Cup-tie against Leigh.
He did not disappoint in that initial season as his 30 appearances yielded 13 tries, three goals and a drop-goal – the first by a Hull FC Player at the then KC Stadium. He also kicked the second in 2005!
Whilst the 2005 season was memorable for all at Hull FC as a result of winning the Challenge Cup at Cardiff, it was even more memorable for ‘Stilts’ as he scored a try at a crucial stage of that final and he also earned the personal distinction of “Super League Young Player of the Year”.
He made an appearance off the bench in the unsuccessful Grand Final of 2006. Representative honours came his way in the form of three appearances for England in 2004-06 in the European Championship and Federation Shield.
Richard’s Hull FC career embraced no less than 257 appearances, in which he notched 76 tries and kicked 30 goals, plus those two dropped efforts – a total of 374 points.
A testimonial was awarded to Richard in 2014, a season in which he made three appearances for Doncaster on dual-registration.
Having served the Airlie Birds for 12 years, Richard was joined Leigh Centurions for a single season (2016) before taking the Atlantic plunge to Toronto Wolfpack for the 2017-18 seasons after which he retired, although he still carried on the role of Player Welfare Manager.
In total, Richard Whiting’s professional Rugby League career amounted to 344 appearances, in which he scored 104 tries, 30 goals and 2 drop-goals.
Richard Whiting remains a popular figure in the annals of Hull’s Super League history and his contribution to the Airlie Bird cause is remembered to this day and, no doubt, for many years to come.
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