Luke Gale reveals the REAL story behind Leeds Rhinos exit

In 2020, Luke Gale signed for Leeds Rhinos from Castleford Tigers in the last time Leeds played a fee for a former Man of Steel winning halfback prior to paying for Salford Red Devils star Brodie Croft this year.

Gale would make his debut for the Rhinos against Hull FC and by the time his second game came around against Hull KR he was captaining the side with Stevie Ward injured with a career ending concussion.

The former Castleford star guided Leeds to the top of the table by the full season restart after lockdown due to the pandemic.

Gale’s drop goal completed one of Super League’s greatest ever comebacks to do so in the game before the official restart.

That drop goal would be dwarfed in importance by the drop goal he nailed to win the Challenge Cup Final against Salford.

In 2021 he was appointed the club’s official captain a status that was stripped from him after he fell out with Richard Agar.

As Leeds signed Blake Austin and Aidan Sezer for next year, Gale’s future was questioned and eventually he would be released to join Hull FC.

Now Gale has revealed the real story behind his Leeds exit on the Out of Your League Podcast.

He said: “No one wins in that situation. Look, whatever happened between me and Rich, and it wasn’t a big deal, I felt like he was into me on the videos.

“We weren’t going great, we kept having to rotate the team. I remember Cam Smith playing a lot of half-back and we weren’t necessarily going as good as we were.

“I ultimately knew that they’d signed two new half-backs and I was the Leeds captain. So two new half-backs coming in for the year after and I’m the captain and not a word spoke to me, so ultimately that’s going to cause something.

“I remember in a video review we’ve gone at it a little bit but nothing major, finished the review and I can remember ringing Kev and saying ‘look I want to sort it out man to man before any of this goes on’.

“Ultimately sorted it out a week later, got dragged on and I left. We had about eight games left, maybe ten games left. I’d got injured. I did my MCL grade two, so couldn’t make it back in time.

“My agent rings me and says ‘Hull have come in’, and I still had a year left on my deal at Leeds but I knew that if you sign two new halfbacks then I wouldn’t be playing.

“If the club comes to me and says, look, we don’t see you as being our halfback this year, I’m honestly as cool as anything, and I’d have shook his hand. But it was just the non-dialogue between one another.

“No one won. I left Leeds and Rich obviously didn’t last that much longer. I’ve got nothing against Rich now. He’s doing great out in New Zealand Warriors. They’ve had a great season. And look, Rich knows his rugby. He does, and I’ve got nothing against him and I probably know it’s a business as well and sometimes it’s not going to work out.