Hull FC’s Tom Briscoe will bring the curtain down on an outstanding playing career at the end of the year.
Hull FC winger Tom Briscoe.
Hull FC winger Tom Briscoe will bring the curtain down on a 19-year professional career at the end of the 2026 season, a decision the 36-year-old believes ‘has been coming for a while’.
Playing 471 career games to date and scoring 232 tries, Briscoe has enjoyed an outstanding career and is one of the finest wingers of the modern era and arguably one of Hull’s very best in the Super League competition – where he is the league’s ninth highest try scorer of all-time.
First appearing on the scene as a fresh-faced 17-year-old, Briscoe enjoyed a superb first spell at Hull from 2008 to 2013, scoring 90 tries in less than 150 games, before moving on to Leeds Rhinos and Leigh Leopards, where he won three Challenge Cups and two Super League titles.
The winger then returned to Hull over two and a half years ago – playing a further 64 games in his second FC spell and scoring 17 more tries, including his 100th for the club. He also added to his Hull derby total, where he finishes as the joint third highest scorer of all time alongside Clive Sullivan and only behind Ivor Watts and Kirk Yeaman.
On the international scene, Briscoe played for England during his first Hull spell, and off the field, the winger recently completed a PhD degree and was awarded doctor status. He will fittingly hang up his boots at Headingley next month against the Rhinos.
Reflecting on his decision to retire and his career, Briscoe, who had an option for a further year, said: “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 told me I would still have been here nearly twenty 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 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.”
On his final three games, which will see Briscoe line up against debut opposition Warrington Wolves and former club Leeds Rhinos, the veteran continued: “It feels poignant that my final game at home will be against Warrington this weekend – the same fixture that started my professional career, and the last game of my career will be between Hull and Leeds – two clubs I’ve got the most history with.
“So it feels like the stars have aligned a little bit and to bring the curtain down at the club where it all started is a great way to bring things to an end – it feels like a full circle moment.”
And on his future, Briscoe 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.”