Record-breaker Jamie Benn's dream move to Hull Sharks is off - but the York Wasps ace could still be on his way to Humberside.

IN DEMAND: York RL's Jamie Benn

The Sharks' neighbours Hull Kingston Rovers have made Benn an offer which he is currently considering. He has already turned down contracts from Featherstone Rovers and Doncaster and, with no other offers on the table at present, that points to a straight choice between the Robins and the Wasps.

The 22-year-old, who smashed York's points and goals in a match records last season, is refusing to rule out staying at Huntington Stadium but is keeping his options open until his current contract expires at the end of November.

One club who will not be signing him, at least for the forthcoming season, is Hull Sharks. Benn revealed he had spoken to the Super League club's chief executive Brian Johnson last week and was told to look elsewhere as the Sharks will not be in the market for players until they know what guise - and what division - they will be playing in.

Their possible merger with Gateshead Thunder is still under discussion and it could be some time before they know where their immediate future lies.

Benn said: "If they stay as one club then I might go there in the future but not next season."

He confirmed he was made an offer from Featherstone last week which he rejected for "financial reasons." He also admitted he had been made an offer from Hull KR but declined to comment further.

And he claimed that York's offer compared favourably with other clubs. He said: "It was not a particularly good contract but it was just as good as the other offers I've had."

That will give Wasps coach Dean Robinson some hope of hanging onto Benn, who is still hopeful of shaking off an ankle injury to make his Scotland debut in Sunday's Triangular Tournament decider against Ireland.

Originally all the players were offered equal contracts which many felt was too low. But Robinson has now been given an increase in the wage bill and has been told by the board he can negotiate with the players as he chooses.

That means he could offer better contracts to his top players - which could include Benn. He will be putting his new wage structure to the board at a meeting tonight and, if it is rubber-stamped, will begin negotiations immediately.

Another priority is getting new faces to the club, according to chief executive Ann Garvey. She said: "What we do need is to get new players in for the ones that have left. We've had a few enquiries from people wanting to join us so hopefully now we can follow up any we're interested in."

With only Mark Cain, Darren Callaghan, Shaun Austerfield and Steve Hill signed up for next season, Robinson must now concentrate on getting a squad together to begin training on his target date of November 9.

Off the field, Garvey will begin a big push for sponsorship which she hopes will see some big money come into the club. She said they had got the payment of debts under control and had cut back as much as possible in other ways, such as office expenses.

Now they were looking for money from sponsors which could be used to aid the team on the field. She said: "If we can get some of the big companies to sponsor us - and it disappoints me that we don't get a lot of big sponsors - it would go on players and bringing in new players."

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