The rumour that Zak Hardaker is set to leave Wigan continues to gather pace.
The club where the 29-year-old is set to land is allegedly Castleford – which would be a huge turn of events following the player and club’s history.
Hardaker played 30 times for Castleford in a record-breaking season in 2017, but faced a drugs charge in the week leading up to the Grand Final.
That rankled Castleford fans and bridges have barely been built since, but speculation continues to mount, with journalist Mick Gledhill – also known as ‘The Game Caller’ – stating that Hardaker had met with incoming Castleford head coach Lee Radford.
The fullback/centre has since registered over 60 appearances for Wigan, but shone at the start of the season with first-choice fullback Bevan French out with injury.
It remains to be seen where Hardaker would fit in at the Tigers if such a deal went ahead, with current number one Niall Evalds occupying the fullback spot with aplomb having signed a new long-term deal this year.
Zak Hardaker could be about to make a shock #RugbyLeague return to Castleford Tigers after meeting Lee Redford earlier this week. There remains a couple of hurdles before this could become a reality but both Wigan and Castleford are looking to strike a deal.
— The Game Caller 🗣🎙📻 (@TheGameCaller) August 7, 2021
However, the tweet by Gledhill was quoted by one of Hardaker’s friends who said there was no truth whatsoever in the rumours.
https://twitter.com/DavidRobinson01/status/1424099359025729543?s=20
Salty
August 8, 2021 at 11:24 pm
Hope not!
Tony Townend
August 9, 2021 at 10:07 am
He’s a quality player, but you would always be waiting for his next transgression or disciplinary issue, having Hardaker is like having a ticking time bomb. Is he worth the risk….that’s a matter of opinion.
Myles
August 9, 2021 at 10:33 am
You can take the lad out of cass but never the cass outta the lad