Blake Austin says he is waiting to hear from Leeds Rhinos regarding a new contract. The halfback produced another standout performance in the Rhinos' victory over Warrington Wolves, backing up his excellent performance a week earlier against Huddersfield Giants.
Rugby League Live revealed earlier in the week that Austin's agent had offered his services to rival clubs after being unable to come to terms on a deal with the Rhinos. Confirming a deal hadn't been reached, Rohan Smith stated in the week that contract talks were a "two-way street" between a club and the player.
It's believed that the stumbling block has been the length of the contract. Austin and his representatives have been pursuing a two-year deal but Leeds are only keen to give out a deal for one season. The 32-year-old was quizzed on his future by Sky Sports after the game but in an interesting development, he suggested he was waiting for Leeds to come to the table on contract talks.
"I'm not sure if Gary (Hetherington) has been watching - he's not called me or wanted to discuss a contract yet," Austin said. "Hopefully I can keep pushing my case and we can get something sorted. Yeah, I don't know if Leeds' preference is for me to stay but as I said, I'd love to hear from them and all I can do is keep playing well."
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Following his comments, Rohan Smith was also asked about Austin's future and after tiptoeing around the subject he said: "Recruitment will be spoken about behind closed doors at our club."
