Wakefield Trinity reject offer from Hull KR for former England international Luke Gale

The Robins are on the lookout for a new half-back after giving Jordan Abdull the green light to join Catalans Dragons on a season-long loan.

Rovers identified the experienced Gale as someone who could provide cover and competition for Mikey Lewis and Tyrone May but their approach has been rebuffed by Trinity.

When approached for comment, Wakefield owner Matt Ellis told The Yorkshire Post: "We have rejected an offer from Hull KR for Luke Gale.

"Luke wants to stay and we're not in the business of selling our best or most influential players."

The 35-year-old joined Trinity from Keighley Cougars on an 18-month deal last May and featured 10 times in the second half of the 2023 campaign.

Gale could not prevent Wakefield from dropping down to the Championship but made a positive impact at Belle Vue and has since been reunited with his former Castleford Tigers boss Daryl Powell.

The ex-Bradford Bulls, Leeds Rhinos and Hull FC playmaker has previously expressed his excitement about the prospect of taking Trinity back to Super League at the first attempt.

"There's a lot of positivity around the club," he said in November.

"We were all disappointed at the back end of last year that Wakefield went down but it's given us a chance to rebuild.

"The key word is positive – it's been so positive. I always said if we did go down, the job of the players and coaching staff is getting the club back up in a better place than it went down."

Wakefield’s decision to reject the bid is a blow for the Robins as they look to strengthen Willie Peters’ half-back options.

Brad Schneider returned to Australia as planned at the end of last season and Rowan Milnes joined Castleford on a permanent deal.

Abdull, meanwhile, was all set to compete with Lewis and May for a place in Peters’ team before his surprise departure last week.

In an interview with Hull Live, Catalans boss Steve McNamara stated that “we've got the ability to take him (permanently) for no fee if halfway through the season we believe we're good for each other”.

Rovers are understood to have switched their attention to Featherstone Rovers half-back Ben Reynolds in their search for cover.

Featherstone are KR’s dual-registration partners but only last week appointed the former Leigh Leopards playmaker as their captain for the 2024 season.