Leigh Leopards lost star winger Blake Ferguson ahead of the 2023 season when he left on compassionate grounds resulting in Leigh signing Wigan Warriors winger Umyla Hanley though it did leave them with a quota spot.
Speaking to the Leigh Journal, Adrian Lam confirmed as such.
“There has been a health issue in the family and Blake feels he wants to be there,” he said to the Leigh Journal.
“So, we have released him on compassionate grounds. He really wanted to be there with his family.
“It was important for him and also to his indigenous culture. As a club we supported him in that.
“There is no ‘is he coming back, or is he not?’ He has just been granted permission to get back for his immediate family.
“Our hearts are with him and we support him. We understand where Blake is coming from. He was desperate to get home.
“From past experience, players need to be there for as long as they can to help. That seems as though it might be long term but we can’t guarantee that at the moment.”
Now though Ferguson has signed for Thirlmere Tahmoor SRLFC for 2023.
He previously played for them in his younger years and are based in New South Wales.
They play in the Group 6 Rugby League competition and have won six premierships most recently in back-to-back successes in 2019 and 2020.
Now though, as Ferguson looks to get medical help for his nose, he has revealed that his time outside of Australia playing in Japan and in England with Leigh means he isn’t eligible for support and he has called for the sport to fix this.
“After 15 years in the NRL system playing 249 games for 4 NRL teams winning a grand final, 7 games for the Kangaroos, 9 games for New South Wales Blues, winning the Harry Sunderland medal (players player for Kangaroos) and breaking my nose over 8 times you’d think they would fix it as I dedicated my life and body to the game.
“But no I have been told because I went to japan and England and it has been over 12 months that I’m not eligible for the medical treatment to fix it.”