Rugby League fan favourite re-signs on short-term deal

One Rugby League club have re-signed a fan favourite for 2025 leading to him declaring that he wants to see his career out with the club.

That man is Josh Hardcastle at Featherstone Rovers with the 32-year-old penning a new one-year deal, extending his stay at the club and heading into his ninth season.

During that time, Hardcastle has made over 170 appearances for the club after joining from local rugby league side Featherstone Lions back in 2017.

His time at Post Office Road hasn’t been without its difficulties with Hardcastle actually suffering a stroke during the 2023 season, before recovering and re-signing a deal for the recent 2024 campaign.

During this past season, the centre played 27 games and scored six tries as he showcased his resilience and hard work, something that has seen the club extend his deal for a further year.

After his stroke in July of 2023, Hardcastle made his return to the field in a pre-season friendly against Dewsbury Rams, flourishing ever since. He’ll now fight for his place in a packed Featherstone Rovers squad with the club signing outside backs such as Derrell Olpherts and Carlos Tuimavave.

Featherstone Rovers tie down fan favourite

Having now secured his future for the 2025 season, the 32-year-old is understandably delighted.

In a statement released by the club announcing his new deal, Hardcastle said: “I’m really happy to sign another deal at Rovers, I can’t wait for 2025 already.

“I’ve been here my entire career and never thought about going anywhere else, it’s a club that means so much to me and I want to see what we can achieve next year.

“The club has stuck by me and I’m keen to give my all to this jersey and play out the rest of my career here.”

Featherstone Head Coach James Ford said: “It was a no brainer for us to re-sign Josh, he lives and breathes Featherstone Rovers and is such an important part of our side.

“He’s overcome some serious adversity to re-establish himself of one of our most dependable players, who performs to a high level week in week out.

“Josh is a real competitor, bringing a hard edge to our side and pushes people to be better every day, we’re pleased he’ll be going round again with us next year.”

Most recently, Featherstone Rovers have added Paul Cooke to their coaching staff with the former Hull FC and Hull KR man joining from York Knights.