Huddersfield Giants will look to make use of the salary cap space vacated by Jake Connor ahead of the 2025 Super League season. That’s according to the club’s managing director Richard Thewlis, who has opened up on why the Giants were willing to part ways with Connor and what it might mean for the future.
Connor was contracted with the Giants for another season, but he has made the decision to bring his second stint with the club to a premature end in order to link up with Leeds Rhinos. The England international has penned a two-year deal with Brad Arthur’s side and he’ll be keen to showcase his best after making the move that he describes as the biggest in his career.
Of course, the 29-year-old’s exit leaves a hole in the Giants’ backline, but Thewlis has confirmed that work is underway to fill it, with head coach Luke Robinson surveying the market.
“This was understandably a difficult decision to arrive at but we did not feel in a position to extend Jake’s contract now beyond the end of next season which was the ask we were faced with,” Thewlis said per the Huddersfield Giants website.
“We knew there was a suitor at Leeds who would give him the longer term security he wanted, and when they met our terms to leave we were faced with the reality that a move would occur.
“That has freed up some salary cap space and Luke has been active in his research into the market and we’d expect to be able to move things around with the squad to support him now as we have with all our coaches in the past.
“We wish Jake every success at Leeds and thank him for his contribution over the past two seasons and in his previous stint, and now turn all our attention to supporting Luke’s work in getting his preferred squad into pre-season at the start of November.”
Aaron Wilson
October 9, 2024 at 5:42 pm
Jake Connor costs us games last season, to much of bad temper if things don’t go his way, good riddance.