Ranked: The number of signings made by every Super League club ahead of the 2024 season
Lachlan Miller (Leeds Rhinos, top left), Innes Senior (Castleford Tigers, top right), Luke Thompson (Wigan Warriors, bottom left) & Sam Powell (Warrington Wolves, bottom right) all in pre-season action for their new clubs - Alamy
With the 2024 Super League campaign less than two weeks away, we’ve taken a look at the amount of recruitment done by all 12 clubs, ranking their new signing tallies accordingly.
Excluding players like Toby King, who have returned to their parent club following a loan spell elsewhere, 94 players have signed on the dotted line across the 12 clubs in the top flight. That tally is correct as of the time of writing on February 4, 2024.
In King’s case, he’s back with Warrington Wolves after spending the 2023 campaign with Wigan Warriors, lifting the League Leaders’ Shield and being crowned a Super League champion.
Note however that included in our tallies are players like King’s team-mate Jordan Crowther, who this off-season has inked a permanent deal at the Halliwell Jones Stadium having been on loan at the club from Wakefield Trinity last term.
Up until Friday evening (February 9) when London Broncos confirmed the signing of Lee Kershaw, the Super League recruitment tally stood at 93.
The 24-year-old winger had been on trial with London over the last month or so of pre-season, with Love Rugby League exclusively revealing that the capital outfit were set to offer him a permanent deal earlier this week.
Kershaw’s former employers Wakefield Trinity aren’t included in this, for the obvious reason of having been relegated.
If they were involved, they would actually be second on the ladder for new recruits, adding 11 new faces at Belle Vue in a rebuild carried out under the guidance of new head coach Daryl Powell.
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A hive of Super League transfer activity ahead of the 2024 season
As far as we’re aware, the first of the 94 signings to be confirmed was Catalans Dragons’ coup of Chris Satae from Hull FC. The Tongan powerhouse’s move across the Channel was announced by the French outfit back on May 31, 2023.
A close second was the announcement of Oliver Gildart‘s move to Hull KR, with the Robins’ release coming a day later on June 1.
At the time he penned the deal to move to Craven Park come 2024, Gildart was still Down Under, playing for the Dolphins’ Queensland Cup side.
The 27-year-old would go on to return to Super League sooner than originally planned, joining Leigh Leopards for the final few months of the 2023 season, and making eight appearances with two of those against KR!
Willie Peters’ side were also involved in one of the most recent Super League transfers too, signing Joe Burgess on January 9 following his release from Salford Red Devils following an ‘internal investigation’.
There have since been four further signings made by Super League clubs though.
London swooped to sign Italy international Jack Campagnolo from Down Under on January 15, and four days later Warrington announced the arrival of youngster Max Wood from reigning champions Wigan.
Then, Castleford announced the signing of prop Dan Hindmarsh from Queensland Cup outfit Northern Pride, with the Englishman having featured six times in Super League back in 2019 for London.
And as already mentioned, the Broncos were the most recent club to confirm a ‘new arrival’ when they tied down winger Kershaw.
You get the feeling that in the five days left before the beginning of the new season, we’ll see at least one more arrival, it always happens!
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Ranked: The number of signings made by every Super League club ahead of the 2024 season
Last season’s actual top three – Wigan, Catalans & St Helens – make up the bottom three in terms of new signings made to date.
It’s Saints who are bottom of the pile having made just four additions, that including the permanent signing of winger Tee Ritson following his loan last term from Championship outfit Barrow Raiders.
Elsewhere, there are three clubs tied with eight new recruits, and that includes both Leigh & Warrington, who squared off in a friendly for Joe Philbin’s testimonial last weekend.
The Leopards came out on top, with their headline signing Matt Moylan – who joins from NRL outfit Cronulla Sharks – on the scoresheet with a try on his unofficial debut.
Top of the ‘signings table’ are Castleford, who were embroiled in the relegation battle in 2023 alongside Wakefield, the ones to eventually succumb to the drop.
Craig Lingard has stepped up from his assistant role to take charge at the Jungle, and among the 12 new recruits they’ve made are Josh Hodson & Samy Kibula, both of whom have followed him from Batley Bulldogs.
From bottom to top in terms of least to most new signings ahead of the 2024 season, the 12 Super League clubs are ranked below:
12. St Helens – 4
11. Catalans Dragons – 6
= Wigan Warriors – 6
9. Huddersfield Giants – 7
= Leeds Rhinos – 7
7. Leigh Leopards – 8
= Salford Red Devils – 8
= Warrington Wolves – 8
4. Hull FC – 9
= London Broncos – 9
2. Hull KR – 10
1. Castleford Tigers – 12
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A full run down of every signing made by the 12 Super League clubs ahead of the new season
Castleford (12): Nixon Putt (Central Queensland Capras), Elie El-Zakhem (North Sydney Bears), Sylvester Namo (North Queensland Cowboys), Josh Hodson (Batley Bulldogs), Josh Simm (Wynnum Manly Seagulls), Sam Wood (Hull KR), Luke Hooley (Leeds), Rowan Milnes (Hull KR), Innes Senior (Huddersfield), Samy Kibula (Batley Bulldogs), Luis Johnson (Hull KR), Dan Hindmarsh (Northern Pride)
Catalans (6): Chris Satae (Hull FC), Theo Fages (Huddersfield), Tariq Sims, Jayden Nikorima (both Melbourne Storm), Bayley Sironen (New Zealand Warriors), Jordan Abdull (Hull KR – Season-long loan)
Huddersfield (7): Thomas Deakin (Sydney Roosters), Adam Swift, Andre Savelio (both Hull FC), Elliot Wallis (Castleford), Hugo Salabio (Wakefield Trinity), Jack Murchie (Parramatta Eels), Adam Clune (Newcastle Knights)
Hull FC (9): Herman Ese’ese (Dolphins), Jayden Okunbor, Franklin Pele (both Canterbury Bulldogs), Jack Walker (Hull KR), Liam Tindall (Leeds), Jack Ashworth (Huddersfield), Morgan Smith (Wakefield Trinity), Damel Diakhate (signed permanently following successful trial), Fa’amanu Brown (Newcastle Knights)
Hull KR (10): Oliver Gildart (Leigh), Peta Hiku (North Queensland Cowboys), AJ Wallace (Bradford Bulls), Tyrone May (Catalans), Niall Evalds (Castleford), Neil Tchamambe (Leeds), Jai Whitbread (Wakefield Trinity), Reiss Butterworth (Dewsbury Rams), Kelepi Tanginoa (Wakefield Trinity), Joe Burgess (Salford)
Leeds (7): Mickael Goudemand (Catalans), Lachlan Miller (Newcastle Knights), Matt Frawley (Canberra Raiders), Paul Momirovski (Sydney Roosters), Brodie Croft, Andy Ackers (both Salford), Kieran Hudson (Castleford)
Leigh (8): Dan Norman (St Helens), Owen Trout (Huddersfield), Louis Brogan (Swinton Lions), Lewis Baxter (St Helens), Jack Darbyshire (Warrington), Kavan Rothwell (Wigan), Ben McNamara (Hull FC), Matt Moylan (Cronulla Sharks)
London (9): Sadiq Adebiyi, Robbie Storey (both Keighley Cougars), Rhys Kennedy (Hull KR), Gideon Boafo (Newcastle Thunder), James Meadows, Josh Rourke (both Batley Bulldogs), Hakim Miloudi (Limoux), Jack Campagnolo (South Logan Magpies), Lee Kershaw (Wakefield)
Salford (8): Nene Macdonald (Leeds), Ethan Ryan (Hull KR), Matty Foster (St Helens), Kai Morgan (Leeds), Cade Cust, Joe Shorrocks (both Wigan), Chris Hankinson (Featherstone Rovers), Joe Mellor (Leigh)
St Helens (4): Daryl Clark (Warrington), Tee Ritson (Barrow Raiders – loan made permanent), Matt Whitley (Catalans), Waqa Blake (Parramatta Eels)
Warrington (8): Lachlan Fitzgibbon (Newcastle Knights), Rodrick Tai (PNG Hunters), Wesley Bruines (St Helens), Jordan Crowther (Wakefield Trinity – loan made permanent), Zane Musgrove (St George Illawarra Dragons), Brad Dwyer (Hull FC), Sam Powell, Max Wood (both Wigan)
Wigan (6): Kruise Leeming (Gold Coast Titans), Adam Keighran, Tiaki Chan (both Catalans), Sam Walters (Leeds), Luke Thompson (Canterbury Bulldogs), Sam Eseh (Wakefield Trinity)