Five-time Super League winner Tommy Makinson to retire at end of season

Tommy Makinson announced on social media that he will retire at the end of the 2026 season after Catalans Dragons' 42-20 defeat at Huddersfield Giants on Saturday. The Catalans wing made the decision public as the season moves into its closing stages.

Makinson is 34 and a former England international. He won five Grand Finals and a Challenge Cup during a trophy-laden spell with St Helens between 2011 and 2024. That period with St Helens is the primary source of his major domestic honours.

He joined Catalans Dragons in 2025 and has scored 20 tries in 37 appearances for the French club since that move. At Catalans he has featured on the wing and added the try tally across his appearances for the club.

Saturday's 42-20 defeat at Huddersfield all but confirmed the end of Catalans' slim play-off hopes. The result leaves little margin for the French side to reach the play-offs as the regular season approaches its final rounds.

Makinson posted on social media: "As the 2026 season moves towards its final stages, I feel now is the right time to announce that this will be my final season as a professional rugby league player." He added: "Rugby league has been incredibly kind to me, and when I look back on the journey I've been on, I feel nothing but pride and gratitude. "I've been very fortunate to live out a dream I had as a kid and represent some of the biggest clubs in England and France and also the pinnacle which is representing my country." He also wrote: "I've still got a few games left, and I want to enjoy every second of them. "I'll be taking it all in, appreciating the moments and giving everything I have to finish this chapter of my career in the best possible way."

Makinson's final match will be against his hometown team Wigan Warriors on Friday, 11 September.