Wigan Warriors unable to keep star player

Wigan Warriors, Leeds Rhinos, Warrington Wolves and others have completed excellent business for the 2024 Super League season.

Some clubs are still busy looking at potential recruitment avenues but many clubs have limited avenues.

This is because they have used up all their quota spots such as Leeds who filled their last quota spot with Brodie Croft.

There are only four clubs remaining with a quota spot available: St Helens, Salford Red Devils, Leigh Leopards and the Catalans Dragons.

One man these clubs – and especially Salford Red Devils and Leigh Leopards given the loss of Andy Ackers, Brodie Croft and Ben Reynolds from the clubs – could sign is Wigan star Cade Cust.

This is because Wigan have filled up all seven of their quota spots for next year leaving none left for Cust.

Cust is out of contract but had an option to extend his deal with the club but this will not be exercised.

Cust joined the Warriors in 2022 and won the Challenge Cup Final in a game that picked up an injury.

The halfback started this year as the number six but would find himself out of the side and pushing for the hooker role.

In the end though he was left out of the Grand Final including being left out of the 21-man squad for the final entirely due to the return of Ethan Havard.

There are a number of players leaving Wigan and Matt Peet praised all of them after the Grand Final success.

He said: “I think you always want to build on success but I think when people are looking ahead to next year, they’re underestimating some of the quality they’ve seen on the field tonight and some of them will be moving on.

“But this will be reflected on as a special group of players, a special group of men. I often say it, I think teams at Wigan, they don’t always at the start of the season look like the best team but quite often when you look back on years gone by at team photographs, you think we had a good group there.

“Without looking forward, I want to reflect on this group of people, men, players, staff. I think we’ll look back on this year’s team as a special team regardless.”