Former Leeds hooker Hood joins Hunslet

Hunslet have signed former Leeds hooker Liam Hood on a one-year deal.

Hood, 22, was released by the Rhinos at his own request back in September, despite only signing a four-year deal with the Super League club back in 2011.

He scored five tries in 19 appearances for the Hawks on dual-registration last season, and will now line up for them on a permanent basis in Championship One.

Hawks Director of Rugby Darren Williams said: “We’ve been speaking to Liam for some time and we had a vacancy in the squad following Luke Haigh’s departure in December. Liam had numerous options to consider for 2014, however he enjoyed his time with us last year and we obviously created a good impression with him, his talent is not in doubt and he sees us as the platform to get his career back on track.

“It’s a tremendous coup for the club as Liam was a full time Super League player who was courted by a number of Championship clubs, he will be a superb addition to our 2014 squad and his quality should really light up Championship 1.”

Hood added: “I’m really looking forward to this coming year, it’s a huge season for the club and me personally and I want to prove myself to the fans and the coaching staff as I enjoyed my time at the club last year but it was a difficult time for me and my form suffered; my goal is to win promotion and take the club back to the Championship.”