Huddersfield Giants head coach Rick Stone has confirmed that the club has yet to make a decision on the future of Eorl Crabtree.
League Express understands that the veteran forward will not be playing for the Giants next season, bringing an end to a career that has seen the England forward play for the club in 16 consecutive seasons.
Crabtree, who turned 34 earlier this month, is thought to have been offered to other clubs ahead of the 2017 season. However, Stone refused to speculate about his future.
When asked if the club was in a position to discuss the forward’s plans, Stone said: “Not at this point.
“He’s probably one that has a few assessments medically to see where he is at. I know he’s got an elbow that he hasn’t had an operation on yet, but he’s yet to have a consultation about where he needs to be. I think with that one we’ll wait until we get a resolution on a few injuries he has before we make a decision on Eorl.”
On the recruitment front, Stone admitted that he would have an opportunity to bring in some of his own players, but he is not expecting a lot of movement for a variety of reasons.
“We have a few irons in the fire and we are trying to make a few things happen with our roster,” Stone said.
“Ideally, an outside back or a fullback and a forward is what we’d like if there is availability there. They will probably be the positional groups I’d sort of like to do something with. We’ll know a little bit more in the next couple of weeks.
“We’ve probably lacked a couple of players coming in, and to be honest there wasn’t a lot of room or time to do anything once I got here. There might be some opportunity to move things, but we’re pretty hamstrung at the moment. It’s not like football where you can move ten and bring ten in and pay people out. There’s a few logistics to go with that, but we’ve got the nucleus of a good, competitive squad.”
One potential problem Stone could be dealing with is recruitment done before the start of his tenure, with the Giants understood to have secured deals for Bradford players Lee Gaskell, Dale Ferguson and Paul Clough during Paul Anderson’s spell in charge.
