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Veteran Leigh star Jack Hughes to retire as ‘difficult decision’ shared amid emotional tribute Veteran Leigh star Jack Hughes will retire at the end of the season, bringing the curtain down on a career which has seen him win a Super League Grand Final along with two Challenge Cups. Golborne Parkside and Wigan St Judes junior Hughes joined Leigh ahead of the 2023 campaign and lifted the Challenge Cup with the Leopards that year. The two-time Great Britain international – who also donned a shirt for England Knights on four occasions – has now featured over 100 times for Adrian Lam’s side, taking his career appearance tally up to 392. Having already tasted cup glory in a Warrington Wolves shirt four years prior and won a Grand Final at Old Trafford with Wigan Warriors in 2013, he will hope this year to bow out with a second Super League winners’ ring. ‘It’s been a long, hard-thought decision and a difficult one… a lot more difficult than I ever imagined it would be when the time came’ Hughes began his professional career with Super League heavyweights Wigan, and made his first-team debut in their colours back in May 2011 during a Challenge Cup tie against Barrow having already played on loan for the Raiders earlier that season. Announcing his retirement 15 years on, he said: “It’s been a long, hard-thought decision and a difficult one… a lot more difficult than I ever imagined it would be when the time came. “Although we all know it’s coming for us at some point, I have decided that, at the end of the season, I will bring the curtain down. “I made my mind up a few weeks ago, but if I’m honest, I was changing it on a daily basis depending on how I felt. I’ve been toying with it and it’s been really difficult, but I have made the decision now. Hughes has scored nine tries in his 101 appearances for Leigh to date, including one on debut against Salford Red Devils as the Leopards returned to Super League. He added: “The fans are everything. You can put us on that field against a top club to play a game, but it’s not the same without the fans. “They create the atmosphere, the buzz and the feelings that you crave and play for inside. It’s been an absolute privilege to put that shirt on and play here. “Thank you. It’s not often that we get the chance to say that. Playing in front of you over the last four years has been absolutely massive and a huge part of my career. “It has been the cherry on top of what was already a great career, and it was made special by you guys. Thank you.” ‘He has a great sense of humour, he’s a tough player and he has led us from the front. He’s going to be sorely missed’ Billinge-born Hughes’ decision to hang up his boots comes ahead of his 35th birthday in January. Wigan, Warrington and the Leopards are the only clubs he’s ever been permanently contracted to, though during his time as a Warriors player he also featured on dual-registration/loan for a number of clubs. Those included Barrow, Workington Town and Huddersfield Giants as well as Leigh themselves! Head coach Lam added: “It’s an emotional one. Jack came over in the Challenge Cup year and what he has done for us, both on and off the field, has been incredible. “He has probably been the senior member of the group who has held that leadership role and helped to develop the players around him. “He’s a player who, when he speaks, everyone listens. He has that aura about him, along with his leadership qualities and a quiet aggressiveness. “How he has helped mould this team over the last four years has been incredible. It’s going to be sad for everyone involved because he is such a popular member of the group. “He has a great sense of humour, he’s a tough player and he has led us from the front. He’s going to be sorely missed.”