CHRIS Hankinson knows all too well how quickly things can turn around.
Five weeks ago, he was wondering whether he would get his wages at Salford. Now, he is wondering if he can help Leeds to the Grand Final.
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The winger endured fear and anxiety as the Red Devils’ despised owners, Sire Kailahi and Curtiz Brown, drag the club through the mire – and the High Court.
Eventually, enough was enough and a loan move to Headingley – making him one of 18 to have left, after snubbing earlier approaches – rid him of all that tension.
“I’d lost all trust in these owners,” Hankinson recalled. “I felt like there was no light at the end of the tunnel.
“There’s a lot at stake when you’re a player. You’ve got no contract for the year after, you can’t even negotiate with your home team because they’ve got no money.
“You don’t know what league they’re going to be in. I’m trying to get a mortgage for a house I’ve just bought and when you’re getting paid through finance companies, you just don’t know where you sit.
“I was told it was all going to be done by April 6 at the latest, things like that, You soon lose hope because it just goes on and on and on.
“You start getting to a point where you’re thinking, ‘Do you know what? I want this circus to end. If I don’t get paid, at least I’ll be able to leave and seek other opportunities.’
“Early on in the season, opportunities presented themselves. I turned them away. I started at Salford. I believed in Salford.
“I love the club and I love the fan base. I really felt like I was at home there. It was a really hard situation at the time in my life.
“I held on as long as I could but it got to a point where you think ‘You’ve got to look after your family, your house.’”
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Hankinson was one of the Salford stars left in disbelief when Kailahi and Brown addressed them and told them of their ‘sacrifices’ – also of their low opinion of Super League.
Now the 31-year-old – owed pension money by TWO clubs as Featherstone make up their deficits – has another thing filling his mind, winning.
He added: “It’s a big weight off my shoulders.
“Because of external situations, it was really difficult to be happy. That’s one thing I just want to get back to doing. Hopefully, rugby will take care of itself after that.
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“Now at Leeds, we’re all looking up. we’re in a great position with the running, obviously, keeping it in the manner we are. Beating Hull KR gave us a lot of confidence in what we’re doing going forward.
“It was a horrible start during the season at Salford. Hopefully it can have a really good ending.”
Hankinson and Leeds’ next stage of their bid for glory takes them to Huddersfield tonight but while he can focus on the pitch. He still has a message for pals still caught in the Salford shambles.
He told SunSport: “Get out. I’d say, think about your futures, think of your family.”
