Josh Hodson (born 15 June 2000) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the

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 ...

in the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

. He has previously played for the

London Broncos The London Broncos are a professional rugby league club in London, England. The club competes in the RFL Championship. It was a member of Super League from its inaugural season in 1996 until the end of the 2014 season, when they were relegat ...

and the Batley Bulldogs in the Championship.

Background

Hodson was born in Newport, Shropshire, England. From the age of 6, Hodson played rugby union with Newport RUFC, where he played as a scrum-half. In 2010, he began to play junior rugby league for

Telford Raiders Telford Raiders ARLFC are a rugby league club based in the town of Telford in Shropshire, England. Their first team plays in the Midlands Regional division of the Rugby League Conference and they have a development team in the Midlands Rugby L ...

, switching position to . In 2014, he joined the

Midlands Hurricanes The Midlands Hurricanes are a semi-professional rugby league club jointly based in Birmingham and Coventry, West Midlands, England. They were founded as the Coventry Bears in 1998 and entered the third tier of the British rugby league system, ...

academy based out of Loughborough College. Following a successful trial, he signed for the

academy, where he climbed through the ranks.

Playing career

London Broncos

On 23 February 2020, Hodson made his senior debut for the

against the York City Knights in the

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

, starting on the . The following week, he made his first appearance in the Championship against Featherstone Rovers. The league's COVID-19 abandonment prevented any further appearances in Hodson's debut season, but in October he signed a first-team professional contract with London. Hodson began the 2021 season as a starter for London. On 20 June, he scored his first try for the Broncos against Whitehaven. He finished the year having made 17 appearances and scored 4 tries.

Batley Bulldogs

In October 2021, the Batley Bulldogs announced the signing of Hodson for 2022, following the arrival of London teammate James Meadows. Head coach

Craig Lingard Craig Lingard (born 11 December 1977) is an English rugby league coach and former professional rugby league footballer who is the head coach of the Castleford Tigers in the Super League. Lingard played as a for the Batley Bulldogs in the Cham ...

said, "He has got a really bright future in the game and, hopefully, we can help him get to the next level." Hodson made his first Batley appearance against Halifax Panthers on 30 January, and scored his first try for the club against the Royal Navy in the

. He featured in Batley's Championship play-off final defeat against the

Leigh Centurions The Leigh Leopards are a professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England, who compete in the Betfred Super League. The club was founded in 1878, and is one of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern R ...

. He made a total 26 appearances and scored 5 tries in the 2022 season. In the early rounds of the

2023 Challenge Cup The 2023 Challenge Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the 2023 Betfred Challenge Cup, is the 122nd edition of the Challenge Cup, the main rugby league knockout cup tournament in British rugby league run by the Rugby Football League (RFL). I ...

, Hodson scored 4 tries on two occasions, against

Wath Brow Hornets Wath Brow Hornets are an amateur rugby league football club from Cleator Moor, Cumbria. The club currently competes in the top division of the National Conference League. The club also operates a number of academy teams. History The game of r ...

and Hunslet ARLFC. His try-scoring form attracted the attention of six

clubs. Hodson featured in Batley's 1895 Cup final defeat against the Halifax Panthers at Wembley. He finished the season with 19 tries, scored in 29 appearances.

Castleford Tigers

On 2 October 2023, it was announced that Hodson would join the

in the

on a two-year deal. This move saw him link up with former coach

, who had taken on the role of head coach at the Tigers. Hodson said, "I'm not going to be holding back and I'll give it everything I've got to take the opportunity with both hands," with Castleford claiming to have beaten two Super League rivals to his signature. After missing the opening rounds with a foot injury, Hodson made his Castleford debut on 23 March 2024 against his former club

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 ...

in the

. He made his full

debut the following week at Wheldon Road against the Leeds Rhinos.

References

External links

London Broncos profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodson, Josh 2000 births Living people Batley Bulldogs players Castleford Tigers players English rugby league players London Broncos players Rugby league players from Shropshire Rugby league centres