New Hunslet Hawks signing James Feather has sensationally admitted there is “no chance whatsoever” of him pulling a Hunslet shirt on next season, after admitting he has made a grave mistake in leaving Keighley Cougars.
Feather has his heart set on a return to the Cougars, after initially opting to leave the club following their relegation from the Championship. However, the Hawks are holding firm regarding the future of the 30-year-old, who are insisting that some sort of compensation must be stumped up by the Cougars should Feather be released from the deal he signed with them.
But Feather admits he “wasn’t being himself” when he decided to leave Keighley, and says he’s desperate to return to the club in time for pre-season, which begins in earnest in next week.
“Keighley and Hunslet both start training next week, so I was hoping it might have been resolved by then, so I could at least go back to Cougars and train,” he said.
“But I’m definitely not going back to Hunslet so I will not be there for pre-season training and there is no chance whatsoever I’ll play for them.
“I’ve made a big mistake because I couldn’t pull on another shirt other than a Keighley shirt. People come up to me now and say ‘I don’t know what you were doing anyway leaving Cougars’.
“I’ve been associated with the club for 23 years, so why would I leave now when I’ve only two years of my career left? It’s crazy and I don’t know what I was thinking at the time. I just wasn’t being myself.”
Hunslet boss Barry Eaton insists that to release Feather now would make the club look foolish, and compensation is the only way Feather will be leaving Hunslet in the near future.
“James signed a binding agreement with us and if wants to get out of that we need a formal approach from Keighley and some form of compensation,” he said.
“All the players we were in talks with around that time have now joined other clubs and we won’t be looking foolish and letting him walk away from a contract.”
