Leeds Knights: Lewis Houston’s exit further blow for Dave Whistle’s forward options

The 20-year-old has departed due to family and work commitments in his native Dumfries, dealing another blow to a Knights’ team that has lost five games on the trot and is in the middle of an ongoing injury crisis.

Neither Houston or Whistle have ruled out the forward returning to Elland Road at some point in the future – maybe even before the end of the season – but, for now, the Knights will have to plug the sizeable gap he leaves.

“It’s been a really tough decision for me to make but, due to family commitments and the opportunity of a full-time job back home in Dumfries, it’s just not going to be possible to commit myself properly to playing for the Knights,” said Houston.

“I feel as though my game has improved a lot under Dave, he’s been a great coach to play for from day one when he first came in. He is very good at getting his message across and his decision to move me across to play centre is something I have really enjoyed and I was happy to make that change.

“I’d love to be able to come back to play for Leeds again at some point, maybe even towards the end of this season if things work out. I’ve loved my time there, the fans have been great to me and it’s a special place which I’m going to miss.”

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Whistle said Houston had proved invaluable during his first few months at the helm, proving himself to be a player who could be relied upon in any game situation.

“He enjoyed playing here and I really enjoyed having him here,” said Whistle. “He’s been an extremely valuable player and very versatile.

“He does every little thing well. He hadn’t been a centreman much before and I asked him to try it and he did – and he did very well at it. It took him a couple of practises and a game or two and then he got it.

“He’s also just an awesome team-mate – everybody loves him and he’s just great to have on the team. I know we are going to miss him.

“It’s a real shame that he has had to go back to Scotland but there are understandable reasons why and we wish him and his family all the best.”

“I hope we do see him again playing for us this season, but we’ll just have to wait and see.”

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