JACK HANSEN is hoping to put a “tough couple of days” behind him after signing for Rochdale Hornets.
The 29-year-old arrives at the club from Halifax Panthers, who were ordered into liquidation on Monday, after scoring eight tries in 26 appearances there.
Hansen previously spent two seasons with Sheffield Eagles, five at Swinton Lions and two with North Wales Crusaders, amassing more than 200 career appearances.
“I’m very excited to be joining Rochdale,” Hansen said.
“The club looks like it’s heading in the right direction, and I want to be a part of it.
“It’s been a tough couple of days with what’s happened at Halifax. Things moved quickly, and I’m grateful for the opportunity Andy Mazey (Rochdale chairman) and Gary Thornton (head coach) have given me to carry on playing in 2026.
“I want to win every game, and I want to do something special with this club.”
Mazey said: “Firstly, I was deeply saddened by the events which unfolded earlier this week leading to the liquidation of a fellow club. Our thoughts as a club remain with everyone affected.
“As a consequence, the situation rendered many players as free agents, which created an unmissable opportunity for us to acquire a top-class player, and we wasted no time in doing so.
“Jack is a player Gary and I have discussed many times over the past four years, but he has always been out of our range as a high-end Championship quality player.
“He is someone I know well from his time in the reserve team at Leigh, and we both later ended up moving to Swinton, where Jack really made his name playing alongside (current Rochdale players) Luke Waterworth and Lewis Hatton.
“He’s a top player but an even better person, and aligns perfectly with our ‘good people doing good things’ mantra.”
Ahead of Sunday’s home tie with Keighley Cougars, Rochdale have also signed Kieran Taylor and Jonny Vaughan on loan.
Taylor arrives from Widnes Vikings on a month loan, while Vaughan joins from Wigan Warriors for one game only.