"I feel this will be a great fit for me. 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" - Luke Gale
Monday 19 December 2022 20:14, UK
Luke Gale has signed a one-year contract with newly-promoted Championship side Keighley Cougars, following his exit from Super League outfit Hull FC.
The Cougars, a club who last season played in League One, the third tier of rugby league in England, have secured the 34-year-old former Man of Steel, despite Gale being linked to a host Super League and Championship sides.
"I feel that this will be a great fit for me," said Gale, after his move to the Cougars was confirmed on Monday.
"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 time 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 [Keighley head coach] Rhys Lovegrove quite often.
"When I've spoken to Chris 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 off the back of last season which for me. It 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."
Gale spent the last 10 years of his career in Super League with clubs Bradford Bulls (2012-14), Castleford Tigers (2015-19), Leeds Rhinos (2020-21) and Hull FC (2022).
