Zak Hardaker’s Wigan Warriors career is now over.
The club revealed on Friday that the 30-year-old Pontefract-born centre/fullback would be let go after almost three years at the club.
Hardaker, who signed in May 2018, has left the club with immediate effect, returned to his family base in Yorkshire to pursue career opportunities closer to home.
Wigan Warriors Executive Director, Kris Radlinski, said: “Zak Hardaker is a hugely talented player, universally liked by team mates and staff. Everybody at Wigan Warriors has done everything they could to provide him with the platform he needed to shine at the highest level.
“As a consequence we are all extremely disappointed that his time at the Club has had to end in this way. We wish him all the best for the future.”
Head coach Matty Peet also spoke highly of Hardaker and wished him well for the future with John Bateman now the first player to talk about the issue.
“It’s sad to see him go but Zak needs to sort those things out in his own life and Zak knows that himself,” Bateman told Wigan TV.
“We will miss him no doubt about that – he’s a good friend of ours and he’s good to have around the place but Zak and Zak’s family are more important to get the stuff sorted what he needs to get sorted.
“I will be in touch with him and a few of the boys will be as well but that issue is done and dusted.”
Bateman also spoke about the culture brought in at the beginning of Peet’s time at the club.
“We all spoke about that and we would buy into that at the beginning of the season and we all stand by that.”
