Jack Broadbent admits he has a point to prove against former club Leeds Rhinos on Thursday after lifting the lid on the reasons behind his Headingley exit last season. Broadbent will face the Rhinos for the first time this week with new club Castleford Tigers, who are looking for their first win of the new Super League campaign.
He was limited to just five appearances for the Rhinos - the last of which came in Rohan Smith's first game in charge in May. He didn't feature again, and spent the remainder of 2022 on loan at Featherstone Rovers before agreeing a two-year deal at Castleford.
Seen as a player with significant potential when he broke through at Leeds, Broadbent admitted he is keen to put on a show against his former employers on Thursday - and admitted he holds no grudges against Smith after falling out of favour under the Australian.
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"Rohan wanted to take the team his way and the news was already out between me and the club that I was going to be signing elsewhere, so that could have been a factor - maybe he wanted to use his own players," Broadbent told Rugby League Live. "I wasn't in my best form either so I didn't have any right to have a place in the team."
When asked if he has a point to prove on Thursday, Broadbent said: "Quite possibly. I want to go and play well against my old club, and I want to go and show what I can do. But not just this week, every week.
"I'm still really good friends with people at Leeds and it is a strange situation but luckily, I'm not too much of a Leeds fan! It's not like I'm playing against the club I support, though it will be strange to play against them."
Broadbent has featured in every game for Castleford so far in 2023, and he admits he believes he made the right decision joining the Tigers despite their early-season struggles.
"100 per cent," he said. "I've spoke about coming out of my comfort zone and finding a new environment and this one has benefited me personally in terms of getting the game-time I want and developing as a Super League player. I back my decision to come here."
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