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Rugby League: Leeds Rhinos CEO Gary Hetherington Reveals Missed Opportunity to Sign St Helens Legend
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In a revealing interview on the Sky Sports The Bench podcast, Leeds Rhinos Chief Executive Gary Hetherington opened up about his missed opportunity to sign a future rugby league legend. Hetherington admitted that the Rhinos had shown interest in signing Jon Wilkin, the podcast host and Sky Sports pundit, during the early stages of his career.
“I was actually recommended you at a very early age,” Hetherington told Wilkin. “You were at university in Liverpool and we didn’t move fast enough as St Helens nipped in – you gave great service to St Helens.”
Wilkin, who went on to make 424 appearances for St Helens and win every domestic honor in the game, started his career at Hull KR before joining the Saints in 2002. Hetherington acknowledged that he had doubts about Wilkin’s size, but the back-rower more than made up for it with his skills and abilities.
“I didn’t think you were big enough actually, but you made up for it with your skills and your other abilities,” the Leeds Rhinos CEO admitted.
If Hetherington had been quicker in securing Wilkin’s services, it could have significantly altered the course of rugby league history. During Wilkin’s time at St Helens, the club lost five Super League Grand Finals in a row, four of which were against Leeds Rhinos’ dominant side between 2007 and 2011.
The Rhinos’ regular second-rowers during that period were Jamie Jones-Buchanan and Carl Ablett, both of whom now work with Wilkin on Sky Sports. Hetherington acknowledged that Wilkin, in his prime, would have found a way into the Rhinos’ lineup, making the missed opportunity a notable “mistake” in his long tenure as the Leeds CEO.
This revelation from the rugby league veteran provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of talent acquisition and the what-ifs that can shape the sport’s history. As the rugby league world eagerly awaits the upcoming rugby league fixtures and results, fans can’t help but wonder how the landscape might have changed if the Rhinos had secured the services of a future legend.
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