Warrington Wolves back makes permanent exit as Championship switch confirmed

Alfie Johnson has secured an early release from Warrington Wolves to join Championship outfit Halifax Panthers permanently on a one-year deal for 2026.

Rugby union convert Johnson arrived at Warrington ahead of the 2025 campaign having caught the eye while donning a shirt for Leeds Rhinos’ reserves the season prior as he made the switch into league for the first time.

A former England sevens international in union, the outside-back penned a two-year deal with Super League heavyweights Wire.

But as we head into the second of those years, he has sealed a permanent departure from The Halliwell Jones Stadium, turning his loan at Halifax into a permanent one.

Warrington Wolves back makes permanent exit as Championship switch confirmed

Surrey-born Johnson represented Championship side Widnes on dual-registration before playing two games for Warrington in March, including one in the Challenge Cup against the Vikings.

He also played a sole game on loan at London Broncos later that month before joining Halifax in late May on a loan which spanned until the end of the campaign.

Scoring four tries in eight appearances, the 24-year-old helped the Panthers to a fifth-placed finish in the Championship, eventually being knocked out of the play-offs at the semi-final stage by York.

As his permanent switch to The Shay was announced, Johnson said: “I’m delighted to be joining Halifax full time going into next year.

“This is a special club with great people everywhere, from the playing group to the coaching staff, and the fans. I absolutely loved my time here on loan last season and can’t wait to be back at The Shay next year.

“It was an easy decision coming back here. Me and Kyle (Eastmond, head coach) have a great relationship and I think he really understands me both as a player but also as a person.

“He’s helped me navigate the position change from wing to centre, and the level of detail and his knowledge for the game is unbelievable. I really wanted to continue learning and improving under his watch.”

Johnson scored five tries in 12 appearances across all competitions between the four clubs he represented in 2025. Next year, all being well, he will don a shirt for the Panthers in a 21-team division, with the Championship and League 1 set to merge.

Full details of that merger, including the name of the newly-formed bumper competition, are still to be confirmed by the RFL.

Johnson added: “I’m still very fresh into my rugby league career and I think Kyle understands and knows how to get the best out of me. I played my best rugby here last season and want to continue that into next season.

“Going forward into 2026, the big aspiration is to go one better than last year as a team and win the competition.

“As an individual, I’m going to be working hard to get better in every department. I still have so much to learn about the game and am ambitious to continue growing into next season.”