Ryan Hampshire targets first-team action as playmaker makes patience admission: ‘It might be frustrating at the start’

The 29-year-old was limited to just three senior appearances in 2023, having recovered from an ACL injury picked up with Castleford Tigers midway through the previous campaign.

He underwent a clean-up on his knee in December, and wants to be more than just a reserves regular in 2024 - having been a part of the youngsters’ Grand Final squad which triumphed at Robin Park Arena against St Helens back in October.

Hampshire agreed to a new one-year extension for 2024 despite offers from elsewhere, explaining: “It’s a champion club, I wanted to give it one more go here and see what happens.

“Obviously I need to get into the team first, I need to be patient and take my chances when it comes.

“It might be frustrating at the start, but I’ve got to keep training hard and see what happens.”

The playmaker started in the abandoned friendly against Wakefield Trinity earlier this month, and also featured from the interchange bench in the 40-0 win over Hull FC at the MKM Stadium on Sunday, crossing for a try in East Yorkshire.

Hampshire finds himself behind Harry Smith and Bevan French in the pecking order, but knew he wanted to remain with the reigning champions ahead of a big season.

The 29-year-old continued: “It was hard last year, not playing. I only played three times.

“I played reserves, but it’s totally different to playing first-team. It was really tough last year sitting out, but I did come off a long-term injury as well.

“It was a bit of a hard one in all different ways.

“I just wanted to give it another chance here.

“I really like how we go about stuff, the way we train, the way we go about our business day-to-day. I wanted to give that one more go.

“I think when you’re at a top team, it’s different when you’re playing with world-class players every day. It’s good.

“I want to be a part of that and hopefully my chances will come.”