LUKE HOOLEY was left a gutted man at Wembley after the Leeds Rhinos player was allowed to return to Batley Bulldogs for the 1895 Cup Final, only to miss a last-minute conversion attempt.
The fullback was given permission by Leeds head coach Rohan Smith to play in the match, despite featuring for the Rhinos the previous week in Super League against Leigh Leopards.
He has spent much of the year on dual-registration with his former club, who fought back from 12-0 against Halifax Panthers on Saturday.
Batley scored a spectacular try after the hooter to make the score 12-10, but Hooley narrowly missed a challenging kick from the sideline that would have taken the final to golden-point extra time.
“It takes a brave man to take those kicks, a very brave man,” said his Bulldogs head coach, Craig Lingard.
“He’s apologised to the guys and every single player in the changing room said there was absolutely no need to apologise.
“There’s certainly no hard feelings towards Luke for stepping up and taking the kick. It’s just unfortunate that the try didn’t get the conversion it maybe warranted to take the game into golden point.”
Hooley is now expected to return to the Rhinos for the rest of the season, in light of the potentially season-ending injury suffered by first-choice fullback Richie Myler.
The Leigh match was only his second first-team appearance since signing from Batley at the end of last year, but the 25-year-old now has the opportunity to cement a place in Smith’s team.
Before the 1895 Cup Final, Hooley expressed his gratitude to Leeds – who host Warrington Wolves this Sunday – for allowing him to play at Wembley.
“Obviously I wanted to get the green light and to play at a place like this is unbelievable,” Hooley told the Yorkshire Evening Post.
“I think occasions like this will be good for when I’m back at Leeds.
“It’s a massive game and the more games I can play in, the better. It helps my career and hopefully one day I can come back here with Leeds in the Challenge Cup.”
