CESSNOCK captain-coach Harry Siejka has bolstered a Newcastle Rugby League premiership push by welcoming a raft of new recruits, including a Cook Islands international and UK imports.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Alvin Maungaati joins the Goannas in 2024 fresh from an appearance in the Pacific Championships while Lewis Young and Harvey Spence recently arrived after playing English second division for Keighley.
"We've got a lot of competition for spots now where it's going to put pressure on people week in and week out," Siejka told the Newcastle Herald.
"If you're not doing it, there's blokes around you who are more than capable. I think that's very important, especially in this comp and with a long season, to have good depth.
"The last two years we've been close [back-to-back preliminary finals] but we haven't cracked it, so something probably needed to change."
Maungaati and brother Kevin are currently doing pre-season training at the Knights along with fellow Cessnock signings Mayson Metcalf, Henry Tuiafiso and Sam Kamu.
Other new additions at the Goannas include Mitch Shaw, Dylan Dukes and Jerome Wilson while local junior Joe Woodbury returns.
Tony Pellow, Caleb Garvie, Kori Barber, Josh Charles and Lucas Thomson have all finished at Cessnock.
Harry O'Brien remains sidelined with a knee injury but hopes to return mid-year.
The likes of Siejka, Brayden Musgrove, Luke Huth, Honeti Tuha, Wyatt Shaw, Reed Hugo, Harvey Neville, Jayden Young, AJ Murray, Brent Mendyk, Jai See and Doug Beale are going around again.
Josh Callinan
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
