Jon Clarke’s Rollercoaster Ride in Rugby League Shaped His Successful Career
Jon Clarke’s rugby league journey has been nothing short of remarkable. The former Great Britain hooker’s time at Wigan Warriors included a Premiership Trophy win over St Helens as an 18-year-old in 1997, followed by a stint in prison the following year.
Despite the ups and downs, Clarke credits his formative years in the Cherry and White with shaping his entire career. From his debut at Wigan to spells with London Broncos, Warrington Wolves, and Widnes Vikings, the 45-year-old has accumulated a wealth of experiences that he now brings to his role as Head of Performance at Manly Sea Eagles in the NRL.
“I carry more from my time at Wigan in my job now than anywhere else I’ve been,” Clarke reveals. “I watched how the likes of Andy Farrell, Phil Clarke, Denis Betts, Kris Radlinski, Terry O’Connor, and Neil Cowie trained. Their motivation, dedication, and desire to be the best they could be, even in training, stayed with me throughout my whole career and still does to this day.”
Clarke’s star was on the rise at Wigan, where he helped them win the 1997 Premiership final against St Helens. However, the following year, after Wigan’s inaugural Super League Grand Final triumph over Leeds Rhinos, he got involved in a fight on a night out and was jailed for assault.
“I did a little stint inside, came back out but couldn’t really get going,” Clarke recalls. “My Wigan career petered out more quickly than I thought it would, but I learned plenty from the experience.”
After leaving Wigan, Clarke joined London Broncos, where he was mentored by the likes of Andy Johnson, Shaun Edwards, and Jim Dymock, who is now the defensive coach at Manly. He then spent 11 successful years at Warrington Wolves, playing under coaches like Paul Cullen and Tony Smith.
“Sometimes I think Cull doesn’t get the credit he deserves for what he did at Warrington – he saved that club from getting relegated,” says Clarke. “He started, on his own, the rebuild of the club and as players, we loved Cull.”
Clarke’s journey concluded with a three-year stint at Widnes Vikings, where he was reunited with his former Wigan coach, Denis Betts.
“When Denis got the Widnes job, he rang me and said ‘I want you to become captain here’. He remembered the way I went about my business, my standards in training, and that’s what he wanted at Widnes Vikings.”
Now thriving in his role at Manly, Clarke’s rugby league experiences, both positive and negative, have undoubtedly shaped his successful career as a performance coach.
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