North Queensland Cowboys icon Jake Granville has confirmed that he will depart the club at the end of the season in search of an opportunity overseas, meaning he could well be on his way to Super League.
35-year old Granville, who made his debut in the NRL for Brisbane Broncos in 2013, has been with the Cowboys since 2015.
In his first year at the club, the hooker had a starring role in securing the club’s first-ever – and to date – only Grand Final triumph, teeing up two of the Cowboys’ three tries in their 17-16 triumph against his former employers.
Fast forward nine years, and Granville – who will miss the remainder of the current campaign with a pec injury – now has 217 NRL appearances to his name, 207 of those coming for the Cowboys.
As time goes on, it looks increasingly likely that Cas stalwart Paul McShane will be departing The Jungle come the end of this season. The 34-year-old is believed to fancy a crack at rugby league Down Under as he approaches the end of his career.
Accordingly, with Granville heading in the other direction over to the UK, he could fill the void. BUT, Cas have tied down Papua New Guinea star Liam Horne on a long-term deal and having taken over the starting 9 role for the Tigers this season, he’s excelled.Similarly, Catalans will lose Micky McIlorum to Hull KR next year, so if they fancy swapping one veteran for a slightly younger veteran, Granville could be the answer for Steve McNamara’s side.
The Dragons have Alrix Da Costa, and will likely be in the market for a number two hooker, but again – whether Granville would take a role like that remains to be seen.
Added to that, French outfit Catalans already have plenty of re-jigging to do where quota spots are concerned next season having made an absolute glut of signings for 2025 in recent weeks. Rockhampton-born Granville would require another of the seven spots to be freed up.
This one is slightly unconventional, but if Leigh could find room for Granville among their overseas talent, boss Adrian Lam could make it work.
Edwin Ipape and Brad Dwyer are both contracted by the Leopards and will no doubt stick around, but they are losing skipper John Asiata who leaves a hole at 13.
This is entirely dependent on Toulouse actually getting promoted to Super League, so it’s in the hands of IMG, but if that does happen then Granville may be someone they look at trying to recruit.
Olympique already have an Aussie playing 9 for them in the shape of Calum Gahan, a Scotland international, but Granville could pass a hell of a lot of experience onto not just him but the rest of the French outfit’s squad.
Obviously, we’re sure Granville wants to get a deal sorted somewhere sooner rather than later. Olympique not knowing they’ll be in Super League until later than most others would clearly be a bit of a setback in that regard.
Wakefield Trinity head coach Daryl Powell applauds the club’s supporters ahead of a game at Belle Vue in 2024
Rounding things off, Wakefield are almost nailed on to be promoted back up to Super League ahead of next season.
They’ve already added some real quality to their ranks with the likes of Tom Johnstone and Mike McMeeken heading to Belle Vue in 2025, and others are expected to be on their way. If they can find room for him though, Granville would be a quality signing.
Liam Hood is Trinity’s current starting 9, and whether that will still be the case come 2025 remains to be seen. Either way, we’re sure boss Daryl Powell would be delighted to have Granville at his disposal.