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Ex-Wakefield Trinity man to officially come out of retirement in 2023

Keegan Hirst has officially completed his return to rugby league.

The 34-year-old prop start his career at Hunslet before making the move to Dewsbury in 2009 where he was a part of one of the greatest winning runs in rugby league history.

In 2012 he joined Batley and spent four years there separated by a brief spell with Featherstone in 2014.

The Bulldogs was where he played his best rugby playing a key role in Batley’s Middle 8s appearance in 2016 where they had the pleasure of playing Leeds at Headingley.

His form then earnt him a move to Wakefield Trinity in 2017 where he made over 50 appearances.

This success came after he made the bold decision to become the first British professional rugby league player to come out as gay in 2015 and seven years on he is in a relationship with YouTuber Joel Wood.

After a successful period with Wakefield, his career began to wind down until retirement, however after a debacle in Australia where many Manly players refused to wear a pride themed jersey, Hirst was inspired to return with former club Batley.

However, this came after the closing of the transfer window for 2022 meaning Hirst could not make his return and missed out on playing in the Championship Grand Final as the Bulldogs made it within 80 minutes of Super League.

Nonetheless, his return to the sport has been officially confirmed today ahead of 2023 with Hirst set to feature for Batley next year.

On this he said on the club website: “I’m really excited to be coming back to The Mount. Batley has, and will always be, a special club to me and my family and I’m privileged to pull on the jersey again and help build on the success of this year.”

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