Club Statement, Ben Stead
Fan favourite Ben Stead leaves the Midlands Hurricanes for an undisclosed fee due to personal circumstances.
Ben first joined Coventry Bears in 2018 during their 20th anniversary year, lining up next to Paul Emanuelli in the halves at the Butts Park Arena. He quickly became a fan favourite, with his regular success from the kicking tee earning him his own theme song ("Can he kick it?" by A Tribe Called Quest). After a successful year with the club that involved the Bears facing then-Super League outfit Widnes Vikings in the fifth round of the Challenge Cup, he departed to sign with North Wales Crusaders for the 2019 season. After a couple of seasons with Crusaders and a brief stint with home-town club Keighley Cougars, Steady returned to the Hurricanes at the start of our inaugural season in 2022. Following a strong year alongside halves partners David Scott and Benn Hardcastle, Stead re-signed for this season and has been ever-present in the starting 13.
Ben leaves the club as the current all-time points scorer, having scored 367 points (including ten tries) across 59 games. This currently puts him in sixth place for all-time appearances since the club went professional in 2015 (behind Hayden Freeman, Chris Barratt, James Geurtjens, Kieran Sherratt and Jason Bass). His performance in 2018 also earned him the title for scoring the most points in a season until his record was surpassed by Dan Coates in 2021.
Ben Stead Commented
“It is with heavy heart I am unable to commit to the midland hurricanes going forward. Due to personal circumstances forcing me to move away from the midlands area, along with work and family commitments, it has become too difficult to continue.
I would like to personally express my gratitude to Greg and Mike for their understanding of my circumstances, and my current and former teammates who have made my time with the Hurricanes (and the Coventry Bears previously) thoroughly enjoyable.
This gratitude is also extended to the fantastic group of fans supporting the club and myself personally being sponsored by the supporters club this season. I am sure this group will grow with more and more new fans across Birmingham and the midlands, seeing the great work being done for rugby league in the area.
I wish the club all the success in the future and will take many great memories with me”
He was sponsored by the Hurricanes Supporters' Club this season, who would like to wish him all the best with his career and thank him for his service to the club. Both the Hurricanes and the Supporters' Club would also like to pass on their thanks to Ben's aunt (and superfan) Rach Pressley, who has followed Ben to virtually every game he has played whilst a Bear/Hurricane and quickly made a really positive influence on the Hurricanes community both at home and on the road."