Huddersfield Giants Joe Wardle stays positive over possibility of new deal

With nothing signed for 2021 and cuts already being made to current wages, obviously there will be plenty of people worried about their future.

Ordinarily at this point in the campaign, deals are already being done – or have been done – but who knows if clubs will even exist, let alone be in any position to offer contracts once everyone gets to the other side of Covid-19.

But Huddersfield Giants’ Joe Wardle – one of numerous players coming to the end of their contracts at the West Yorkshire club – prefers a more positive viewpoint.

The back-row said: “Nothing much has been said (on contracts) and I’m not 100 per cent sure what’s happening.

“I said (publicly) a few months ago I just wanted to see how many games I could play this season being my last year and I wouldn’t worry about it (new contract).

“I’d love to get a good number under my belt and see what happens. So, in some ways, I’m still not thinking about it. But, look, the game is not going to stop playing is it?

“We will be playing next year. So, if the worst comes to the worst and I come down to the last two months of my contract, if it wasn’t to be at Huddersfield, I’d be confident I’d get somewhere else.

“At the moment it’s literally wait and see what gets said and then take it from there.”

Rugby league contracts run until the end of November.

Halifax-born Wardle, 28, is in his second spell with the club he calls ‘home’ and, in a perfect world, would carry on there with his younger brother Jake.

For now, he just hopes they can get back in action soon.

Wardle said: “Hopefully we can continue the season and see what happens but player welfare is massive; you don’t want to cram three games a week in just to make it up. It is going to be crazy but we’ll just have to see what comes up.”

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