FORMER Super League halfback Luke Gale has revealed the reason for leaving Super League to join Championship newcomers Keighley Cougars.
The Cougars were promoted from League One at the end of the 2022 season and now Gale is determined to play a big role in the West Yorkshire side making it into the play-offs for a potential shot at Super League.
“I feel that this will be a great fit for me,” admitted Gale.
“I want to come here to Keighley and help these lads compete within the Championship and with the squad we have got, we will definitely be pushing at the right end of the table.
“Things have been a bit different for me this season as it is the first team that I have ever gone into a pre-season without a deal at a club.
“I made the decision to train by myself and give myself a couple months out of Rugby League after playing and training for 14 straight seasons.
“I have been training at Driven Athlete with Chris Black and as a result have bumped into Rhys Lovegrove quite often.
“When I’ve spoken to Chris, as I know Blacky quite well, he told me that I would really enjoy myself if I signed for Keighley.
“I’ve met and spoken with Rhys a few times now and he is one of the best young coaches within the game right now and we just clicked straight away.
“And that came of the back of last season which for me wasn’t a good year both personally and from a team point of view.
“But I am in a different stage of my career now and not getting any younger.
“I began my career at this level of the game with Doncaster and feel that I have now come full circle, and I can’t wait to see what the Championship brings this season as there isn’t one standout team and it will be a tough league.”
