England half Luke Gale has revealed Castleford players went into the grand final unaware a cocaine positive was the reason star fullback Zak Hardaker had been banned from taking to Old Trafford.
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Hardaker, 25, is also out of the World Cup because of what Gale called "a misjudgment". The reasons for his suspension were not announced until after the Tigers' 24-6 loss to Leeds a fortnight ago but speculation had been rife.
Gale, Man of Steel as Super League's player of the year, told Fairfax Media not even Hardaker's teammates knew what he had done as they prepared to go into battle without him.
"No - he didn't play in the grand final 'for disciplinary reasons'," said the No.7. "There had been a disciplinary matter, probably, two days before the grand final and we needed to keep focused. We had a big job on the Saturday.
"No mate, none of us knew. It's just disappointing how it panned out, missing him before a grand final.
"Zak, a very good friend of mine and a good person as well.
"Zak is obviously not in the English team as well, and the boys are going to miss him but it is what it is. We can't change that. "
Gale said he was not worried about Hardaker's wellbeing despite another off-field misadventure costing him one of the biggest games of his career and a World Cup.
"I wasn't concerned at all," Gale said. "He's a good fella, I have the utmost respect for him. He's made a misjudgment and he's been punished for it."
The 29-year-old from Leeds said coach Wayne Bennett had helped give him the confidence in national camp, which he took back to Super League in 2017 with devastating effect.
"It's the first question you get asked, 'what's he like?' I couldn't be any more positive," Gale said. "He fills you with confidence.
"He's been really good for me. In the back of your mind, if a coach like Wayne picks you it's massive and I want to repay the faith he's shown in me.
"I love him as English coach, he's brought the team closer together. It's a big seven weeks that lies ahead. Who knows what he's going to do but I'm looking forward to the next seven weeks under him.
"I've played in Super League and I guess this is the next step up. I want to to show them that I can do it on this stage."
Asked if he was interested in playing in the NRL, Gale said, "I'm contracted to Castleford but I'd like to test myself against the best players in the world".
