Tony Martin hangs up his boots

Super League veteran Tony Martin has announced his retirement after 17 years.

The Hull FC centre, 33, suffered an Achilles injury in what turned out to be his last match, against Hull KR at the Magic Weekend, cutting short his Airlie Birds career after just 11 games.

He first appeared in Super League as a 17-year-old for London Broncos, where he returned for a second spell later in his career, in 1996, and also played for Crusaders and Wakefield.

Martin said: “I was just a kid that grew up in Queensland wanting to be a professional rugby league player.

“I’ve been lucky enough to do that for 17 years and I’ve played with some great players past and present.

“I have travelled the world playing rugby, I’ve scored in and won an NRL Grand Final and I’ve lived my dream.

“Now it’s time to retire and I’m excited about prospect of returning to Australia with my wife Mel and son Tana to start the next chapter in my life.”

Martin played for New Zealand Warriors and Melbourne Storm in the NRL, winning the 1999 Grand Final with the latter. 

He added: “My fondest memory would definitely be winning the NRL Grand Final with Melbourne. It was a long time ago now, but it was a massive highlight for me.

“You look back on things like that and wonder, but you can never really know. I’m pretty happy, I’ve played a lot of games and done more than I ever expected to.

“To have played for as long as I’ve had and done what I’ve done, I’m pretty proud of that.” 

A competent goalkicker, the Queensland-born centre scored 66 tries and 213 goals during his stay in the UK, adding to more than 100 appearances Down Under.