The departure of Jackson Hastings to the Wests Tigers left a real hole in Wigan’s side and had many people wondering how the Warriors would address replacing him in 2022.
The 2019 Man of Steel helped guide the Warriors to the Grand Final in 2020 and had been regarded as one of the best players in the league since his arrival in 2018. His move back to the NRL left Wigan fans wondering how the Cherry and Whites would line up in the halves in 2022. Would Wigan trust one of Jai Field or Harry Smith alongside veteran Thomas Leuluai or look elsewhere? Rumours circulated about Wakefield’s Jacob Miller moving to the DW Stadium, however he opted to stay put at Belle Vue leading to Wigan signing Cade Cust from Manly.
An exciting star with great skills and versatility, he’s already one of the favourites to claim the Man of Steel award in 2022 and is seen as the man who could spark Wigan’s revival after a disappointing campaign in 2021 as they slipped to fourth and were knocked out of the play-offs in an 8-0 defeat to Leeds.
Signed on a two-year deal with an option for a third, he was awarded the number six jersey by new Head Coach Matt Peet and should bring definite quality to the Wigan halves having made 27 NRL appearances learning from Manly star Daly Cherry-Evans.
Expected to help the development of the likes of Harry Smith at Wigan, the more time he can work alongside Wigan’s current stars the better and it seems he’ll soon be in the mix in pre-season training now that he’s set off to Wigan this morning.
The Warriors Tweeted a picture of Cust ready to depart from Sydney to Wigan as the latest chapter of his career begins. The picture of Cust at the airport was captioned: “Cade Cust is on his way to Wigan.”
Cade Cust is on his way to Wigan! 😁#WWRL pic.twitter.com/QtV2gATBYL
— Wigan Warriors 🍒⚪️ (@WiganWarriorsRL) December 11, 2021
On signing for Wigan, Cust said back in November: “I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity and I am really looking forward to what the next few years will bring. I can’t wait to get to work and play at such a prestigious club like Wigan.”
Whilst Executive Director Kris Radlinski noted the importance of former Wigan stars in securing the 23-year-old: “We contacted people whose opinion we trust in Australia including Trent Barrett and Blake Green who both gave positive appraisals of Cade. Our aim now is to get him to the UK as soon as possible to link up with his new teammates. We expect this to be before Christmas.”
