Galbraith is free to join Batley say Rochdale
ROCHDALE have confirmed centre Lewis Galbraith has been released from his contract with the club, enabling him to join fellow Betfred Championship side Batley Bulldogs.
The news comes just days after the club revealed a forecast budget deficit and coach Alan Kilshaw confirmed that ‘a couple’ of members of his squad are set to leave, with the remaining players agreeing to a reduction in pay.
Galbraith arrived at the Crown Oil Arena ahead of the 2016 season, having spent the previous two seasons playing under Kilshaw at Sarina Crocodiles in Australia.
“Naturally I am looking forward to the next chapter of my career and testing myself at Batley,” said the 23-year-old centre.
“I feel that as a player and a person, now is the time for me to move on and develop.
“I have worked under Alan Kilshaw for four seasons now and he has helped to take my game to a new level, but sometimes you get too comfortable and there is a risk of becoming rusty and I don’t want that this season.”
Across his 43 appearances for Hornets, Galbraith scored 16 tries and was a big part of the team that secured promotion to the Championship with victory in Toulouse.
“It’s always disappointing to lose a player of Lewis’ quality,” added Kilshaw. “I worked with him for four years, both in Australia and the UK, and have watched his game grow.
“He will be a big loss to the dressing room and his infectious personality will be difficult to replace, but I wish him every success in the future.”