There is a lot of transfer talk circling clubs like Leeds Rhinos, Wigan Warriors, Warrington Wolves and Hull FC at the moment but one story dominating matters is that of Blake Austin and events yesterday drove the story into overdrive.
Austin joined Leeds alongside former Canberra Raiders teammate and Huddersfield Giants star Aidan Sezer at the end of 2021 as Leeds’ new look halfback pairing with Austin arriving from Warrington.
The two struggled with injuries for the first half of the season as Leeds struggled for form. Suspensions also played their part as the two rarely seemed to play together.
However, they played their part in guiding Leeds to Old Trafford. Now both are out of contract.
Austin has had a terrific season in 2023. Yes there have been some low points throughout the year but he has at times been unplayable being named as the Man of the Match against Huddersfield and Warrington.
As he accepted the award after the Warrington game following reports he could look at options elsewhere, Austin said he hoped Gary Hetherington was watching.
He was then asked about his future on Sky Sports News yesterday as he collected the Player of the Month Award.
He was surprisingly honest as he said: “I have got no issues being honest about a contract, I think it is a contract between two parties.
“I have heard about my prospects of staying at the club are from Rohan’s press conferences.
“The last I heard is that I am in his thoughts so hopefully I can continue to impress.
“My preference is to stay at Leeds, I played in a Grand Final six months ago and I want to keep performing in front of the South Stand.”
He went on to say that he has had no indication form the club about what they want to do:
“I haven’t had an indication from the club. This is where I want to be and where I want to play.
“I understand my age and things like that but when you are playing well you just want to knock it off and hopefully we can settle it soon.”
Today Rohan Smith responded to those comments revealing a conversation with the stand-off: “Following from yesterday’s news, Blake and I have had a conversation today.
“There’s also been ongoing dialogue with his player manager or player agent. We went through a few things there.
“Blake’s an important part of our squad. He’s playing well. He’s had a good solid season and he’s an important part of things.
“But the contract side of things won’t be played out publicly from my end. But I’ll continue to have conversations with Blake and his management in time.”
When asked if he didn’t appreciate the comments from Austin, Smith said: “I haven’t seen all of it, but I read one of the articles. He was asked a direct question and he gave an answer and that’s okay, that’s fine.
“Blake and I have had a conversation and we’ll have more as time goes.”
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