Fletcher left with no hard feelings
Last updated 12:18, Wednesday, 30 April 2008
STAR forward Richard Fletcher says there are no hard feelings towards Whitehaven over his high-profile switch to Widnes last week.
The Scotland international was one of Haven’s highest-paid players and with cash concerns at the Recre, the club paved the way for his exit.
“It was a hard decision for me, but at the end of the day, the club has a bit of financial trouble and told me they couldn’t afford me and that I could go somewhere else,” said Fletcher.
“It was out of my hands. It’s a business. There’s no bitterness from me and they were honest about it.
“It was good at Whitehaven and I have friends up there.
“Unfortunately, with the job we are in, you sometimes have to move.”
Before his transfer to Widnes, Haven had been talking to Halifax about a move, but Fletcher reckoned the chance to switch to the Vikings, who will learn in a couple of months if they have been awarded a Super League licence for 2009, was too good to refuse.
“With the stadium and the set-up, it’s second-to-none,” he added.
“I spoke to those close to me and people in the game, and I’m 26, I don’t know how many chances I’ll get to play Super League. It was an offer I couldn’t turn down.”
The then Haven boss Dave Rotheram signed Fletcher one game in to last season, after a deal to join Super League new boys Hull KR had fallen through and his former club Castleford had replaced him.
“Whitehaven got me back in to the game, because I was going down the RU channel,” added Fletcher, who will be a full-time pro at Widnes, fitting in development work between his playing and training commitments.
He made his Widnes debut alongside another ex-Haven star John Duffy in Sunday’s shock NL1 home defeat to Celtic Crusaders.
“It was good to play with Duffy again,” he continued. “But we gave ourselves too much to do in the conditions.”
Haven signed back-rower Andy Gorski from Halifax as a replacement for Fletcher last week and he impressed on debut in the televised defeat at Salford.
