Gary Thornton is an English
rugby league coach, and currently head coach of
Rochdale Hornets. He has previously coached at
Hunslet RLFC
Hunslet R.L.F.C. is a professional rugby league club in Hunslet, South Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, who play in Betfred League 1. The club was founded in 1973 as New Hunslet, they became Hunslet in 1979 and the club were the Hunslet Hawks ...
and
Castleford Tigers
The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England, that compete in the Super League, the top-level professional rugby league club competition in the Northern Hemisphere. The club have competed i ...
U20s academy side from 2009 to 2012.
in September 2022, he was announced as head-coach of
Rochdale Hornets.
Playing career
As a player, he spent 4 seasons at Wakefield Trinity before joining Batley in 1990, after initially having a loan spell at 'The Mount' in the 1988–89 season. He went on to make 215 appearances for the club scoring 79 tries.
Coaching career
Gary spent five and a half years as head coach at
Batley
Batley is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Batley lies south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield. Batley is part of the ...
from October 2003-April 2009(the longest serving Championship coach at the time), and also spent time as U21s coach at
Wakefield Trinity.
Gary was Head Coach at York between 2012 and 2014, and
Doncaster R.L.F.C.
Doncaster Rugby League Football Club (RLFC) is a professional rugby league, rugby league football club, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire. They play in the third tier League 1 (rugby league), League 1.
They have previously been known as Doncast ...
from June 2015 to May 2017.
Has won the coach of the year award in respective Championship divisions:
* 2006 – National League 1 (Now the Championship) Coach of the Year – Batley
* 2014 – Championship 1 Coach of the Year – York
References
External links
Hunslet profileTop accolade for skipper WebsterBulldog Maloney wins cup accoladeBatley await Challenge Cup fateCoach Harrison commits to BatleyThornton accepts Wakefield postBatley 'defy the odds' – HarrisonThornton joins Castleford staff
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Gary
1963 births
Living people
Batley Bulldogs coaches
Batley Bulldogs players
Doncaster R.L.F.C. coaches
English rugby league coaches
Hunslet R.L.F.C. coaches
Rochdale Hornets coaches
Wakefield Trinity players
York City Knights coaches