Toronto sign Brierley for undisclosed fee

Toronto Wolfpack have agreed an undisclosed fee with Huddersfield Giants to sign half-back Ryan Brierley with immediate effect.

The move sees Brierley reunited with his old Leigh coach Paul Rowley who he played under for four years, making 125 appearances scoring an incredible 133 tries.

After Rowley’s departure from the Leigh Sports Village at the start of 2016, Brierley soon followed as he joined Huddersfield with high expectations.

The 25-year-old scored 15 tries in 26 appearances for the Giants but failed to nail down a position in the team and will now link-up with the Canadian side.

Brierley said: “I am very grateful to everyone at Huddersfield for the opportunity to achieve my dream which was to play in Super league. My debut will always be a special memory for me as will be the friendships I have made with the coaches , players and supporters here who have been very kind to me. Like all players I wanted to be playing every week and that’s the main reason for taking the new challenge at Toronto with a coach who obviously I know very well. The initial aim of course is promotion and then the desire and ambition of the club is ultimately Super League and I hope to be able to play a big part in that and get back to level that I am leaving. I wish Huddersfield and everyone there nothing but success and really did enjoy my time at the club.”

Giants Managing Director Richard Thewlis told www.gianstrl.com how the move came about: “We received an offer from Toronto Director of Rugby Brian Noble on Monday which our board, coaching staff, Ryan and his management were made aware of. It was clear that the move would be appealing to Ryan and from our side of things once the fee met our value of the player the deal was quickly signed.

“It’s a sad day in some respects for us but the reality is that the move to Huddersfield and into Super League didn’t really work out as either we nor Ryan would have wished. He has been an excellent professional with us, well liked amongst the supporters but with him not cementing a place in the matchday seventeen in his preferred half back role I can well see why the chance to do that back with coach he knows well is appealing to him. He leaves us with our best wishes for his future with promotion to the championship this year seeming a certainty for the Wolfpack I am sure he will play a big part for them in securing that.

“From our side the search for additions to the squad is an ongoing process and whilst it may be viewed that this strengthens our position in being able to recruit the reality is that the player market is incredibly thin in the UK. The immediate positive that we gain is a likelihood of further opportunities for our younger players and in particular young Izaac Farrell will now be invited to move up into the first team environment and stake his claim.”