The St Helens and England ace will join rugby union side Bath in November, bringing an end to his 10-year association with Saints.
Boots 'N' All spoke with Saints chief executive Tony Colquitt, who admitted disappointment at losing a player of great ability, whose future seemed to be mapped out at the club.
"It's disappointing, even more so given he's a home-grown player," said Colquitt. "There's a lot of people and coached at the club who spent a lot of time with Kyle.
"But our game has campaigned for the best part of 100 years for a free gangway between the two codes. A player has chosen to move across and we can't really say a lot about that.
"Royce Simmons (St Helens head coach) has had a word with him. Kyle broke the news to the players at training on the Saturday morning after the Warrington defeat.
"He looked the guys in the eyes, shook their hands and told the lads he would give them 100 per cent between now and the end of the season. He's no different to any other player. Royce has told him that if he plays well he'll be in team."
Differential
Eastwood's move has led to calls for the salary cap to be raised, but Colquitt doesn't believe money is the primary issue in players switching codes.
"All 14 clubs aren't spending the salary cap but I think there's a wider issue," Colquitt told Boots. "I don't think money in the short-term was foremost in Kyle's mind.
"The big differential between the codes is not what goes on at club level, but international level. I think the game needs more marketing focus and more commercial focus.
"I think we are very strong in terms of development but in my opinion Super League is a very process-driven organisation, and the game just needs to find ways to raise the profile of our stars.
"If you look at the way society is, people are driving for celebrity. And instant celebrity status almost comes with the England rugby team at the moment; that's a big appeal to some of the younger players."
Colquitt wouldn't be drawn on potential replacements for Eastwood, but admits Saints are already eyeing up a number of options.
"We're disappointed Kyle's going but there's plenty other cards we believe will be in the ranks shortly," he revealed.
"We'll continue our investment in junior development, in which we've a strong tradition. But equally we'll be looking overseas and we've already identified a couple of targets."'"
