Keighley owner blames IMG for Luke Gale exit

Just 48 hours after rumours of a move to Wakefield Trinity started, Luke Gale has completed his return to Super League.

Gale shocked everyone when after the expiry of his deal at Hull FC he joined Keighley Cougars in the winter in one of the biggest transfer stories of the winter.

Now that story has been usurped by this story with Gale leaving the club just a third of the way into the season to join Wakefield and hopefully for Trinity turn their season around and drag them out of the relegation scrap.

There were suggestions recently that the move had connections to Keighley Cougars’ stance against IMG.

Owners Ryan O’Neill and Kaue Garcia claimed that the changes IMG proposed would lead to a lack of ambition and then when they were voted in by Super League clubs Garcia couldn’t commit to continuing to show the same level of financial backing to the club.

Now O’Neill has claimed that the transfer comes from the uncertainty created by the IMG gradings.

He said on the club’s website: “We wish Luke well in his move to Wakefield. We understand that with the current unknown status surrounding clubs IMG gradings, Luke wanted a guaranteed opportunity to get back into Super League. We thank him for his time at Keighley, a truly decent and nice guy who we are sorry to see leave.”