Paul Cooke claims Super League side are set for major signing

Transfer stories are abound at the moment involving clubs like Leeds Rhinos, Wigan Warriors, Warrington Wolves and Hull KR but one of the biggest lately has involved Hull FC and Wakefield Trinity.

Josh Griffin was in red hot form at the Black and Whites, he scored a hat-trick against Warrington Wolves at the Magic Weekend and the centre had completed his metamorphosis into a backrow.

He was playing a crucial role for the Black and Whites against St Helens in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals scoring for the Black and Whites who went in level at the break.

However, he had a blow up with official Chris Kendall, was sent off and then banned for seven games.

Halfway through that ban he is now headed to Wakefield Trinity for the rest of the season and Paul Cooke has claimed this is a direct consequence of the ban.

“It’s not surprising news for me given the length of his ban and what appears to come out of, which was a very sketchy RFL disciplinary with Josh and the RFL and Chris Kendall,” he said on BBC Radio Humberside.

“You can ill-afford to speak to referees with any disrespect, and it’s about knowing your battle with regard to Chris Kendall. I think that when he went down that avenue, Josh Griffin, it was only going to end one way which was to see him leave the field for a number of minutes or which happened was indefinite for that game.”

He is not surprised by the move at all adding:

“It doesn’t surprise me. He’s not the youngest of players; he’s moved from the centres to the back row, probably a lot of players can and do do that at the end of their careers when they lose a bit of speed.

“He’s been a very very good servant to the club, member of the clubs 2017 Challenge Cup winning team. I dare say with him moving to Wakefield he will have got a 2 year contract as a posed to a no year contract at the end of this season with Hull not renewing.”

He did argue that the decision shows that Hull FC are set for a major signing in the backrow for 2024:

“So I can’t say I’m surprised by it but the club must have something for next season with regard to back row coming into the club or a back row that’s being promoted from the academy maybe to fill that void left by Josh.

“It’s very much Tony Smith’s way of working, he gets his squad and the playing roster to how he would like it and how he sees it fit and how he wants his team to play, not just for this season but into next and I think it’s even more of a project maybe even over the next two years for Tony.”