Tony Smith (born 24 January 1967) is a professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

coach and former player He played for the

Illawarra Steelers The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level rugby league competition from 1982 until 1998. On 13 December 1980, they were the ...

and

St. George Dragons The St. George Dragons are an Australian rugby league, rugby league football club from the St George, Sydney, St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales Rugby League, New South Wales competition ...

in the

ARL ARL may refer to: Military * A US Navy hull classification symbol: Landing craft repair ship (ARL) * Admiralty Research Laboratory, UK * United States Army Research Laboratory * ARL 44, a WWII French tank Organizations * Aero Research Limited, ...

, and

Workington Town Workington Town is a semi-professional rugby league club based in Workington, West Cumbria, England. The club plays home games at Derwent Park and competes in the RFL League One, League One, the third tier of British rugby league system, Briti ...

in the

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

. He has coached the

Huddersfield Giants The Huddersfield Giants are an English professional rugby league club from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Huddersfield play their home games at the John Smiths Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league sy ...

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home games at Headingley Rugby Stadium, AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby lea ...

Warrington Wolves Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England. They play home games at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. Warringto ...

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers (often abbreviated to Hull KR) are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Craven Park, Hull, Craven Park and compete in Super League, the top tier of B ...

and Hull F.C. in the

, and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at international level.

Background

Smith was born in

Grafton, New South Wales Grafton ( Bundjalung: ''Gumbin Gir'') is a city in the Northern Rivers region of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is located on the Clarence River, on a floodplain, approximately by road north-northeast of the state capital Sydney. ...

, Australia. He is the younger brother of fellow rugby league coach Brian Smith and uncle to former

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

national team and

head coach, Rohan Smith. Tony played his junior rugby league for the Casino RSM Cougars and was part of their U18 Premiership winning side in 1984. He holds a British passport.

Playing career

Tony Smith played rugby league with the

, for whom he made 40 appearances and scored 9 tries, as well as the

for whom he played 48 games under the coaching of his older brother Brian Smith, including the

1992 NSWRL season The 1992 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership season was the eighty-fifth season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Sixteen teams competed for the J.J. Giltinan Shield during the season which culminated in a grand final for ...

grand final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Synonymous with a championship game in North Ameri ...

, in which he played from the interchange bench.

Workington Town

Tony Smith's involvement with British Rugby League began by finishing his playing career in 1996 with a spell at

in the inaugural

season. His initial time at Workington was hampered by

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

injury suffered two seasons previous, made all the worse by Workington's poor form which saw them relegated to

National League One National One, up until 2023 known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage Lea ...

. He also notoriously lived above a Workington fish 'n' chip shop with his wife, commenting "''every morning I trudged to training and swore we'd never come back to this country''." His most notable on-field contribution was on his début as he helped the club to an 18–18 draw with Halifax Blue Sox, one of only five points that the club secured in 1996 as they finished bottom of

. Smith's high

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

led to the side's third try, scored by Wayne Kitchin.

Coaching career

In 2000 he was appointed the head coach of the

Japan national rugby league team The Japan national rugby league team, nicknamed the Samurais, represents Japan in rugby league football. Japan have played some international competition since 1994. The Japanese National Cup, the JRL domestic club competition, was founded in 1 ...

for the

Emerging Nations tournament In 1995 and 2000, the Rugby League International Federation held an Emerging Nations Tournament alongside the Rugby League World Cup. The competition was designed to allow teams who have failed to qualify for the World Cup proper a chance to play o ...

. Unfortunately his spell wasn't successful as Japan failed and lost all three games in the Tournament.

Huddersfield Giants

After returning home to Australia after finishing his playing career with Workington, Smith turned to coaching and applied for the job of

club

in September 2001. His first season in charge saw Huddersfield Giants relegated to

, which consequently followed their dreadful start to the season losing 13 games in a row, a record number of consecutive defeats for a coach who held on to his job in British Rugby League. Conversely, Huddersfield Giants returned to Super League the following year after not losing a single game throughout the National League One season. This culminated in their Grand Final win against

Leigh Centurions The Leigh Leopards are a professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England. Leigh play homes games at Leigh Sports Village and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. ...

which secured the team's promotion. In their return season to Super League in 2003 Huddersfield Giants avoided relegation, finishing in 10th place which at the time was by far the club's best Super League finish.

Leeds Rhinos

Smith was appointed head coach of the

in a surprise move in November 2003 as the club decided to move incumbent Daryl Powell into an upstairs role for two years from the start of the 2004 season. He guided the

to their

2004 Super League Grand Final The 2004 Super League Grand Final was the 7th official Grand Final and conclusive and championship-deciding game of Super League IX. It was held on Saturday 16 October 2004, at Old Trafford, Manchester, and was played between Leeds Rhinos, who fi ...

victory against the

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. The club have won the League Championship six times, the Challenge Cup f ...

, their first Championship in 32 years, and went on to beat the

Canterbury Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilitated by ...

in the

2005 World Club Challenge The year 2005 Carnegie World Club Challenge was contested by Super League IX champions Leeds Rhinos and 2004 NRL season premiers, the Bulldogs. The match was played on 4 February at Elland Road, Leeds before 37,208 spectators. Australian Sean Ha ...

Elland Road Elland Road, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...

. In 2005 Leeds made both the

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

Final and

2005 Super League Grand Final The 2005 Super League Grand Final was the 8th official Grand Final and the conclusive and championship-deciding match of the Super League X season. Held on Saturday 15 October 2005, at Old Trafford, Manchester, the game was played between Bradfo ...

, but were unsuccessful in both matches, losing to Hull F.C. and the

respectively. Smith was however named Super League coach of the year for 2005 and signed a contract extension to the end of the 2006 season. The

failed to win a trophy in the 2006 season, suffering defeat at the Semi-Final stage of the Challenge Cup and losing out to the

in 2006's Super League XI Play-Offs. Smith secured his second Super League championship with victory in the

2007 Super League Grand Final The 2007 Super League Grand Final was 10th official Grand Final and the conclusive and championship-deciding match of the Super League XII season. Held on Saturday 13 October 2007, at Old Trafford in Manchester, the game was played between St. H ...

, his final game as coach of Leeds Rhinos.

Great Britain

Smith was announced as the successor to Brian Noble and became the full-time coach of

. He saw out his Leeds contract until the end of the 2007 season and combined the GB coaching role with that of performance director and headed up the Rugby Football League's technical department at

Leeds Metropolitan University Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The univer ...

. His first game in charge of Great Britain was a victory over France. The 3-0 whitewash of New Zealand followed with a 20–14 victory at Huddersfield, a 44-0 thrashing of the Kiwis in the 2nd test at Hull and a final test win at the JJB by 28 points to 22. Leeds Rhinos players contributed hugely to these victories including captain

Jamie Peacock James Darryl Peacock MBE, (born 14 December 1977) is an English motivational speaker, leadership mentor and former professional rugby league footballer. Peacock began his career with Bradford Bulls in 1998, which also included a loan spell ...

, half-backs

Rob Burrow Robert Geoffrey Burrow (26 September 1982 – 2 June 2024) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played as a scrum-half (rugby league), scrum-half or hooker (rugby league), hooker. Burrow spent his entire professional career ...

and

Danny McGuire Daniel Phillip McGuire (born 6 December 1982) 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. He played as a or and spent the majority of h ...

, 2nd Row

Gareth Ellis Gareth Ellis (born 3 May 1981) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and in the Super League and the NRL, and England and Great Britain at international level. He played at club level for the Wakefield Tr ...

and centre

Keith Senior Keith Andrew Senior (born 24 April 1976) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Sheffield Eagles and the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League. A Great Britain national rugby league team, Great Britain and Engla ...

. As this was the last test series as a Great Britain side on home soil. Smith then led the England side into the 2008 World Cup. Only overseas touring sides now use the Great Britain name. At the end of the year, Tony was named the RLIF Coach of the Year for a successful 2007 season.

England

Smith became a naturalized British citizen on 8 September 2008 at a ceremony in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

. He coached

in the

2008 Rugby League World Cup The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth World Cup for men’s rugby league national teams. It was held between 26 October and 22 November and was won by New Zealand, who defeated Australia 34–20 in the final in one of the greatest ...

, making the semi-finals.

Warrington Wolves

On 5 March 2009,

announced that Smith was to take over as their new head coach while continuing to coach England on a part-time basis. His first game in charge of Warrington was a 14–20 defeat at home to former club Leeds Rhinos. On 29 August 2009, he led Warrington to their first

Final since 1990, and ultimately the team's first final victory since 1974, beating his former club the

25–16. Smith coached the

to their 2010 Challenge Cup Final victory over the

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

, their second consecutive Cup victory. and there are groups on Facebook about smit

Smith coached the

to their first

League Leaders' Shield The League Leaders' Shield is a trophy awarded to the team finishing the season top of Super League in the sport of rugby league football. This regular portion of the season precedes the playoffs for the eventual Super League Grand Final. The tro ...

in the

era in 2011 and the Warrington Wolves became the first team in 6-years to break 1,000 points scored during one season (the last team to do so being Smith's

, along with St. Helens and the

in the same season). He led the

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

to their 2012 Challenge Cup Final victory over the

. He coached the

to the

2012 Super League Grand Final The 2012 Super League Grand Final was the 15th official Grand Final and conclusive and championship-deciding match of the Super League XVII season. The match was held on Saturday 6 October 2012, at Old Trafford, Manchester, and was contested by ...

defeat by the

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

. He played in the

2013 Super League Grand Final The 2013 Super League Grand Final was the 16th official Grand Final and conclusive and championship-deciding match of Super League XVIII. The game was held on Saturday 5 October 2013, at Old Trafford, Manchester, and was contested by Wigan Warri ...

defeat by the

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors is an English professional rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club competes in the Super League, the top tier of the British rugby league system. Formed in 1872, the club is a founding member of the Ru ...

. He coached the Warrington Wolves to the 2016 Challenge Cup Final defeat by Hull F.C. at

. After leading Warrington Wolves to the

Super League Grand Final The Super League Grand Final is the championship-deciding game of rugby league's Super League competition. It is played between two teams who have qualified via the Super League play-offs. The winning team receives the Super League Trophy and go ...

in 2012, 2013 and 2016 at

, and also his second

in 2016, his spell as Warrington Wolves coach ended in 2017 when he departed the club at the end of the 2017 Super League season; at the time he was the league's longest-serving coach.

Hull Kingston Rovers

Smith was announced as the new head coach of

on 6 June 2019 following the sacking of former Hull KR coach

Tim Sheens Timothy Sheens (born 30 October 1950) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. Head Coach of the Australia national team between 2009 and 2015, he has also been the head coach of National Rugby League (NRL) c ...

the day before. At the end of the

2019 Super League season Super League XXIV, known as the Betfred Super League XXIV for sponsorship reasons, was the 2019 iteration of and the 24th season of the Super League and 125th season of Rugby Football League Championship, rugby league in Great Britain. Twelve ...

, Hull KR finished 11th on the table. In Smith's first full season as head coach in 2020, Hull KR finished bottom of the Super League but were spared from relegation due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the expulsion of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. In the

2021 Super League season Super League XXVI, known as the 2021 Betfred Super League XXVI for sponsorship reasons, was the 26th season of the Super League and 127th season of rugby league in Great Britain. The 2021 season was originally scheduled to begin on 11 March 2021 ...

, Smith guided Hull KR to sixth on the table as they qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2013. After upsetting Warrington 19–0 in the first week of the playoffs, Hull KR travelled to France for the semi-final against

Catalans Dragons The Catalans Dragons (French language, French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan language, Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. Despite being based in France the ...

. Hull KR would lose the match 28-10 which ended their season one game short of the grand final. On 4 July 2022, Smith was terminated as head coach of Hull Kingston Rovers after the club had only won a single match since

St. George's Day Saint George's Day is the feast day of Saint George, celebrated by Christian churches, countries, regions, and cities of which he is the patron saint, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, England, Ethiopia, Greece, Georgia, Port ...

of the 2022 season with the side were sitting 10th on the table. Smith had announced in April that he was leaving the club at the end of the campaign which resulted in a massive drop in form. Smith was replaced by interim head coach Danny McGuire.

Hull F.C.

On 13 September 2022, Smith was announced as the new head coach of Hull F.C. In the

Super League XXVIII Super League XXVIII, known as the 2023 Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th season of the Super League and 129th season of rugby league in Great Britain. The season began on 16 February 2023, and ended with the Grand Final ...

season, Smith's first year in charge ended with a 10th placed finish. On 11 April 2024, Smith stepped down as head coach after 18 months in charge. Hull F.C. had started the 2024 Super League season poorly losing six of their first seven matches with their only victory coming in a last gasp effort against the

London Broncos The London Broncos are a professional rugby league club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, England. They play their home games at Plough Lane and currently compete in the RFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of British rugby le ...

. Under Smith, Hull F.C. in 2024 conceded 50 points or more on three occasions.

References

External links

Tony smith at yesterdayshero.com.auTony Smith at nrlstats.com

Smith takes up Great Britain job

Rhinos coach Smith exiting Headingley

Smith unveiled as GB coach
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Tony 1967 births Living people Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Australian expatriate rugby league players in England Australian expatriate rugby union players in Japan England national rugby league team coaches Great Britain national rugby league team coaches Huddersfield Giants coaches Hull F.C. coaches Hull Kingston Rovers coaches Illawarra Steelers players Japan national rugby league team coaches Leeds Rhinos coaches Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league players from Grafton, New South Wales St. George Dragons players Warrington Wolves coaches Workington Town players 20th-century Australian sportsmen