Whitehaven RLFC have announced that two key players are set to leave the club.

Halfback Louis Jouffret and winger Lachlan Walmsley will not be with the clubnext year.

There had been lots of rumours about the futures of the two players, with Walmsley linked with Wigan Warriors.

Ashey Kilpatrick, club director said: "Louis has been brilliant since we brought him over in the middle of the season. He added that extra spark that we needed at that time.

"Lachlan has been a revelation since we brought him over, both on and off the field, completely buying into the ethos of the club.

"We wish both the best of luck in their careers, and we will no doubt see them again down at the LEL Arena in the future.

"We did make Lachlan an offer to stay, a very good offer in fact, however clearly it wasn't enough to keep him here.

"With Louis we have never had the chance to make him an offer as his agent informed us that he was returning to play in France next season."

CEO Andrew Canavan said: "The club has a responsibility to the shareholders and fans to ensure it remains a vibrant going concern.

"The offer made to Lachlan was an offer that was the very top end of what the club could afford.

"We are losing tens of thousands of pounds in central distribution next year and although we have exciting plans to increase revenues along with improving the matchday experience, we cannot risk gambling money we do not have and spending over and above based on the gates we have got this season.

"Matchday income is the highest income stream that the club has, and we know that we must improve crowd numbers if we are to stand a chance of continuing to challenge for the top end of the Championship.

"I am as disappointed as every other fan that we have not been able to keep Lachlan and Louis at the LEL Arena however fans can rest assured that there is a lot of hard work is going on behind the scenes to find suitable replacements."