Ben Crooks appears in the headline, but the retirement news lands on Jy Hitchcox and Joe Arundel. Hitchcox said he will retire from rugby league after recently turning 37, while Arundel has ended a 19-year career that included 166 Super League appearances.
Hitchcox said two dislocated ribs “draws the curtains on retirement and 20 years of senior footy, it’s been a blast. Here’s some of the good times,” a blunt line that closes the chapter after eight seasons in the northern hemisphere. Arundel used his own Instagram post to set the tone: “As one chapter closes, another begins.”
Jy Hitchcox in Featherstone Rovers
Hitchcox’s route through the game helps explain why this retirement reads as a long farewell rather than a single-season decision. He joined Featherstone Rovers in 2015 and scored 11 tries in 25 appearances, then moved to Castleford in 2016 and featured in the Grand Final defeat to Leeds Rhinos in 2017.
He later spent 2017 and 2018 on loan with Batley, Halifax and Bradford before joining Bradford Bulls permanently, then moved on to Toulouse in 2020 and 2021. In 2022 he was part of Leigh Centurions’ Championship-conquering squad before returning to Australia after that season and continuing in the lower grades.
Joe Arundel and 166 Super League appearances
Arundel’s retirement carries a different shape. He turned 35 earlier this month, had not had a professional club this year, and last played for Batley Bulldogs in 2025. Across a 19-year career, he represented 11 clubs and made 166 Super League appearances, with his last top-flight outing coming for Wakefield in 2021.
That final top-flight game ended in a 44-12 victory over Hull FC, a fitting marker for a player who spent years moving through the game’s upper and lower tiers. In the same Instagram post, he wrote: “I’ll always be grateful for everything rugby league has given me.”
Why Ben Crooks appears
The headline reference to Ben Crooks does not match the names in the retirement announcements themselves, and the reporting sits instead on Hitchcox and Arundel. For readers following the thread of player exits, the practical takeaway is simple: two experienced careers have now reached their close, one because of injury and one after a year without a professional club.
Arundel’s parting line gives the story its final weight: “It’s been one hell of a journey, and I’ll carry the memories, friendships, and lessons with me forever.” That is the clean end point here — not a fixture list, not a transfer move, but the end of a 19-year career that touched 11 clubs and 166 Super League appearances.
