Last night it was reported that Wakefield Trinity have begun talks with Keighley Cougars’ Luke Gale.
This comes from Thirteen Rugby and you can read about the ins and outs and the likelihood of the deal here.
However, one interesting details is the fact that Keighley Cougars have reportedly given former Man of Steel and Castleford Tigers and Leeds Rhinos star, Gale the opportunity to talk to Wakefield about a potential move to Belle Vue.
Serious About Rugby League have approached Keighley for comment over this but have been told at this stage “there is nothing to comment on.”
However, it is clear that this could very well be symptomatic of what Keighley owners Kaue Garcia and Ryan Miller warned would happen under IMG.
Keighley were the most ardent opponents of IMG because they felt like it would turn Super League into a closed shop and result in a lack of ambition from Championship clubs.
Keighley have shown some amazing ambition signing the likes of Gale as well as Hull KR star Ben Crooks.
Furthermore, what they are doing off the field is fantastic.
However, they warned that there would be a lack of ambition under IMG before and after the vote.
Prior to the vote, the club said:
“Under the IMG proposals even though you might win the Million Pound Game it doesn’t mean you will be promoted. If the bottom club in Super League have only half a percent more in the grading system than the Championship Champions for having an LED Screen or a larger catchment area means that Super League loser stays up and meaning the Championship winner stays exactly where they were having achieved nothing and won nothing more than a medal this will drive away ambition from clubs and mean there is no investment to get better.
“It will turn away fans too as the excitement of jeopardy is gone. Investment and interest in the sport will decline.
“We at Keighley Cougars oppose these changes, we believe that these proposals will bring about the death of the sport.
“Change is needed but sport by spreadsheet is not the change this sport needs.”
Meanwhile, after the vote was passed, Garcia addressed that they were unsure if they would pump the same level of investment into the club under IMG.
“I do really hope that it doesn’t kill the ambition and opportunity for clubs who are left out of Super League, because that’s the fear,” he said.
“If we as a club did everything we could on the field but then wouldn’t be allowed into Super League so I really hope it doesn’t kill the ambition of all the 24 clubs in Championship and League One.”
The timing of this Gale story is subsequently interesting.
It is impossible to prove, but would Keighley be entertaining this transfer prior to the IMG vote when they were given more of a reason to have ambition or would they be striving to keep a hole of the former England international?
Either way, losing Gale could be seen as exactly what the Keighley owners warned would happen if IMG’s changes took effect.
