Paul Cooke addresses Castleford Tigers star Jake Trueman’s link to Hull FC

With May 1st now passed, those players who are out of contract at the end of the 2022 Super League season are free to negotiate with other clubs.

That means that clubs will be spending a frantic amount of time trying to either nail down their own stars or try and grab someone else’s.

For Castleford Tigers halfback Jake Trueman, he continues to be linked with a move to Hull FC, but Black and Whites legend Paul Cooke has had his say on that link in his Hull Daily Mail column.

Cooke wrote: “It feels like the Black and Whites have been linked with Jake Trueman for months now and if that’s the direction they go down, he is one you can persevere with. My concern with him is that his potential is starting to run out. He’s still only 23 but has he really improved like many of us would have hoped for? I’m not sure.

“He needs to start contributing week in, week out, not rocking up every four or five weeks. When you’ve got that potential label you become bulletproof but eventually, you get pelters and I think he has got a little bit of that as of late. But he is one you could persevere with, which is something they need to do now, so that could well be an option they go with.”

Trueman joined Castleford in early 2017 after coming through the Bradford Bulls academy where he quickly made a name for himself as one for the future.

The halfback debuted in the Tigers’ away win at Wigan Warriors towards the back end of that year, scoring a hat-trick and enjoying an unbelievable debut.

Since then, Trueman has arguably become Castleford’s go-to men but has struggled recently after recovering from a serious back injury.