Leigh Centurions coach Neil Jukes has expressed his disappointment over several aspects of the Ryan Brierley saga in recent days.
Jukes believes his side of the story has not been fully portrayed after being labelled a liar in public by Brierley following the player’s recent suspension.
The Centurions coach has offered to take a lie-detector test over the sequence of events that led to Brierley’s suspension, and has been saddened by the way the saga has played out publicly.
Jukes says he had a good relationship with Brierley until late last week, and has now found himself in a battle of “who said what”.
Jukes said: “I may not be perfect, but I’m definitely not a liar.
//www.totalrl.com/ryan-brierley-suspension-leigh-centurions/
“I will do what it takes to ensure my name is not labelled as that.
“Whether that be getting transcripts from my phone or strapping us both up to a lie detector test I’m not sure, but I will pursue it that is for sure.”
Jukes continued: “On Tuesday morning I was privy to an email that confirmed Ryan was handing in four weeks’ notice.
“I couldn’t understand that because I thought we’d had a real good week and Ryan has been really good with myself to be fair.
“I rang him on Tuesday about it and told him that I thought he was happy here because he’d looked happy.
“He told me that Bradford had come in with a better offer for him for the remainder of the season and that if Leigh Centurions improved his contract then he would consider staying.
“I couldn’t decide that so I passed it onto the club who said that they would need a couple of days to make a decision and check the salary cap situation.
“I spoke to Ryan again on Thursday and thought the situation was still confidential, then at night I’m sat at home with my wife watching Sky Sports and it’s announced on there.
//www.totalrl.com/leigh-suspend-brierley/
“I felt completely insulted as a coach and have taken it really personally.
“We’d had a really good week starting with a real good review of the Bradford game on Monday.
“Then I get to Thursday night and it’s another pantomime that we have to go through.
“After that I have been called a liar in public, and that is something that I won’t have.
“Why again is this in the public domain – who actually gains from it and what is it trying to achieve?
“Who doesn’t gain anything from this again is everyone involved in Leigh Centurions, directors, staff, players and fans.
“This only adds turmoil to something that possibly could have been dealt with under the radar professionally and amicably which is how it initially was being dealt with by myself.”
