Rugby league legend Lee Crooks has announced his departure from Hull FC to take up a new role with the Castleford Tigers Foundation.
The 61-year-old former Great Britain forward, who played for both Hull FC and Castleford Tigers in his career, confirmed the move in a personal update on his LinkedIn page.
Crooks spent over a decade working across various off-field capacities at the Black and Whites, including as Head of Youth and within the club’s Community Foundation and player welfare setups.
Writing on LinkedIn, Crooks cited travel as a key factor in his decision while expressing his gratitude to his hometown club and excitement at returning to West Yorkshire to serve the Castleford community.
“Tomorrow will be my last day working for my home town club, which gave me an opportunity 46 years ago to play rugby league,” Crooks wrote.
“Since then I have worked for the club twice, once as a Head of Youth and for the last 10 years doing multiple roles, and for this I will be forever grateful!
“The travelling has got the better of me, and I’ve been able to accept a place working for Castleford Tigers Foundation, the club who resurrected my career when I signed for them in 1989 and an opportunity to give something back to the community which accepted me when I moved here in 1987, even though I played for Leeds at the time!”
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“I am really looking forward to my new challenge which starts on Monday morning.”
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A legendary career across Yorkshire
Crooks broke onto the scene with Hull FC in 1980, making over 200 appearances and captaining the side before moving to Leeds in 1987.
He later made the switch to Castleford in 1989, spending eight years at Wheldon Road where he captained the Tigers to Yorkshire Cup and Regal Trophy triumphs.
Across a celebrated playing career, Crooks racked up 526 professional club appearances, scoring 2,415 points and earning 19 caps for Great Britain.
After retirement, Crooks transitioned into coaching, taking the head coach role at Keighley Cougars (1998–1999) before managing York (2000–2001).
