Leeds Rhinos chief reveals background to Blake Austin exit, makes signings vow for 2023

Hetherington revealed the 32-year-old’s departure from Rhinos came “out of the blue” and the player himself initiated his move to Castleford.

Austin joined Tigers yesterday (Thursday) on a loan deal until the end of this season. He was in the last year of his Rhinos contract and had not been offered a new deal, though Leeds were yet to make a final decision.

Austin’s exit was not linked to comments he made on a podcast which was recorded several weeks ago and surfaced on social media on Wednesday.

Rhinos had expected Austin to see out the season with them and Hetherington stressed it was “not the club’s choice” to lose a key player at this stage in the campaign.

“The first I knew about it was late [on Wednesday] night,” Hetherington said. “I spoke to Castleford and Blake’s agent over in Australia and got confirmation from Blake and his agent [on Thursday morning] that he wanted to leave.

“He requested a release and that ultimately was granted. Blake has a wife and four kids and he was particularly keen to secure his future beyond this season.”

Though the move is officially a loan, Hetherington confirmed he “is a Castleford player now” and will be available for Tigers when they visit Headingley in the final round of the regular season, next month.

The signing deadline for the rest of this season is today and while an addition has not been ruled out, the short notice makes it unlikely.

Hetherington, though, stressed: “We are actively looking for other players who might be available and on the market, both here and abroad, for next season.”