THE 2024 Super League season is over and every club in the top flight will have analysed what went well and what went wrong.
Among that analysis will have been a stock take over signings that impressed and recruits that didn’t, with clubs altering their recruitment strategies for 2025 accordingly.
Some signings of course just don’t work out for one or both parties and here are five that did just that in 2024.
Waqa Blake – St Helens
Signed by St Helens ahead of the 2024 season from Parramatta Eels, it’s fair to say that Waqa Blake failed to rekindle the form that once saw him as one of the most potent attacking weapons in the NRL. The Fijian international scored 11 tries in 22 appearances, with Blake playing at both centre and wing during his solitary season with the Merseyside club. At the culmination of the 2024 season, Saints decided not to trigger the option to extend the 30-year-old’s contract in 2025. He is now a free agent and looking for a new club.
Nixon Putt – Castleford Tigers
After spending three seasons with the Central Queensland Capras in the Queensland Cup, Nixon Putt earned a move to Super League with Castleford Tigers, signing a two-year deal with the West Yorkshire club. However, the Papua New Guinea international would play just seven games and leave the Tigers halfway through his contract to move back home. The 28-year-old never really settled at The Jungle and often looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights during the games that Putt did indeed play. Yet to find a new club.
Cade Cust – Salford Red Devils
Signed by Salford Red Devils for 2024, Cade Cust never really got going for Paul Rowley’s side. Though he made 13 appearances for the Red Devils, the Australian didn’t make his mark and found himself being dropped for the second-half of the season due to the form of Jayden Nikorima, Marc Sneyd and Joe Mellor. Cust had left the Wigan Warriors – where he had won the Challenge Cup Final – to join Salford but the former Manly Sea Eagles man exited the Red Devils after just one season to now link up with Hull FC.
Franklin Pele – Hull FC
There could have been a number of Hull FC signings in this bracket, but Franklin Pele takes the spot here. Having arrived at the MKM Stadium under a barrage of hope and anticipation, it’s safe to say Pele did anything but impress. In his debut game against Hull KR, Pele saw red for a swinging arm against Rovers captain Elliot Minchella, yielding a three-match ban. All in all, Pele would make just eight appearances for the Black and Whites before leaving for York Knights on loan and then Bradford Bulls permanently.
Jayden Okunbor – Hull FC
Jayden Okunbor, like Franklin Pele, arrived at Hull FC with much fanfare from NRL side Canterbury Bulldogs. In and out of the team under head coach Tony Smith, however, Okunbor never found any form at the MKM Stadium and left for the Bradford Bulls too midway through the 2024 season. In fact, the 27-year-old would register just one try in seven appearances as another high-level recruit bit the dust at Hull.
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