Brett Hodgson, one of Wests Tigers’ favourite sons, is returning to the club.
The flying fullback helped steer Wests Tigers to the premiership in 2005, alongside brilliant youngsters such as Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah.
Now “Hodgo’’ is returning to the fold with a clipboard in his hand.
Wests Tigers have just announced that he will be joining the club’s coaching staff for the coming two seasons.
Hodgson will join Wests Tigers as an NRL assistant coach and Intrust Super Premiership head coach for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
The 39 year old is currently assistant coach at the Widnes Vikings and will join Wests Tigers for the start of the 2018 pre-season.
Hodgson, who grew up right here in the Macarthur region, said he was looking forward to coming back to Wests Tigers in a coaching capacity.
“I’m extremely happy to be returning to Wests Tigers, the memories have been flooding back to me and I’m looking forward to getting started,” he said.
“Ivan and the staff have made many changes and I feel now is the perfect time to return as the club enters this new era.
“The playing roster for next year is one of the things that excited me the most about joining Wests Tigers,” he said.
“I’ve been impressed with what Ivan is planning and his recruitment is very smart.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“Next year is shaping up to be something really special and I can’t wait to be a part of that,” Hodgson said.[/social_quote]
Ivan Cleary said that he looked forward to working with Hodgson over the coming seasons.
“Brett is progressing really well as a coach in the English Super League and I look forward to having him further his development back here at Wests Tigers and become an important member of our team,” he said.
“On top of that his playing record speaks for itself and it’s great to be able to bring a player who achieved so much here back to the club.”
Hodgson made his NRL debut for the Western Suburbs Magpies in 1997, playing 49 games for the side before joining the Parramatta Eels.
The fullback joined Wests Tigers in 2004 and played 102 NRL games, including being a part of the club’s 2005 premiership winning team.
Hodgson also represented NSW on six Origin occasions.
He moved to the English Super League in 2008, playing 51 games for the Huddersfield Giants and 75 for the Warrington Wolves before retiring at the end of 2013.
