How Wakefield Trinity almost signed England international Jake Connor ahead of Hull FC

Speaking on Wakefield Trinity TV, Carter admitted that he felt a deal was almost done for the Halifax-born player prior to the start of the 2017 campaign.

The 25-year-old left Huddersfield Giants at the end of the 2016 season before making the switch to East Yorkshire.

He has been at the Black and Whites since but Carter revealed how it all could have been different.

"I thought we had got a deal done for Jake Connor when he left Huddersfield," he said.

"I remember his agent phoning me up and asking for a little bit more and I agreed to it, so I thought we had got a deal done.

"But then he ending up signing at Hull. I absolutely get that Hull is a big club and whether they were using us to get his contract up at Hull, I don't know.

"I honestly thought we had got a deal done for Jake Connor."

He added: "We could have been a million miles off getting him, so, who knows."

Connor made his Super League debut with Huddersfield in 2013 and has represented England five times since his international debut in 2018.

Meanwhile, Wakefield have announced that they will face Doncaster in a pre-season friendly at the Keepmoat Stadium on January 24.

The game will kick off at 7.30pm with ticket information to be announced at a later date.