Leeds Tykes can today confirm the following departures at the end of the 2021/22 National League 1 campaign.
Callum Atkinson, Cameron Breen, Paddy Case, Michael Etete, Dom Hardman, Andrew Lawson, Connor Lloyd, Charles Morgan, Cole Potts, Harry Robinson, Ethan Thiart, James Tincknell and Xavier Valentine leave with our very best wishes.
On their departures, Xavier Valentine said: “It’s an exciting time at Tykes and it’s been an absolute honour to be a part of the journey. Massive thank you to all the coaches, supporters and players that made the experience such a positive one.”
Paddy Case added: “Leeds Tykes is a great club that has looked after me well and given some great memories both on and off the pitch. I wish the lads and everyone involved with the club all the best for next year. UTT!”
Andrew Lawson, players’ player of the season, shared his thoughts: “My time at the Tykes will go down as the most memorable experience of my career. Packed full of highs and lows on an individual and team level. The countless lonely workouts and then small group fitness sessions when lockdown rules were easing on repeat during the pandemic. Then eventually rugby was back. A Tykes team eventually and completely new faces coming together. We enjoyed rugby in the sun and triumphed in the Ventur Cup. During the cup the team kept on changing and it was clear competition for a place in the team would be tough. I wasn’t sure how much I’d play this year as I wasn’t in the starting team for the Rotherham pre-season game nor in the squad for Taunton in the first game of the National 1 season. That hurt a lot as I knew this season was most likely going to be my last.
“Throughout the year the squad came together more and more, which is understandable due to the disruption of putting a new team together after the pandemic and the outstanding support we had behind the scenes from everyone involved. There were so many games that should, and could, have gone our way. They didn’t, which was extremely tough to take. We consistently showed glimpses of what we were capable of and just how close we were getting as a team.
“I’ve said it so many times, this is the most talented squad I’ve ever played in. We picked up a few injuries throughout the season and unfortunately a couple for myself, which made me think maybe that was my last ever game. Portraying the culture the Tykes are building, we stuck at it and battled ‘til the end. An unbeaten end to the season and the great escape was complete. A new approach to games mentally got us over the line but I think all the building the coaches were doing throughout, the support on and off the field medically, physically and tactically was what really did it.
“Being a Tyke is something I’ll be proud of forever and what a year it was. I can’t wait to now follow the boys, checking the scores and watching some games. Thank you to everyone that was around the team this year. There are too many individuals to thank and what a club it is. UTT!”
We thank all of them for their time with the Tykes and wish them every success with their future endeavours.
We will be announcing retained players and share exciting news about new players soon.
