Six new signings to watch in Super League
There are only 16 new faces that we haven’t seen in Super League before this season – and seven of those are at Hull KR.
We’ve picked out six of those new faces to watch this coming season.
Todd Carney (Catalans)
The stand-out signing for Super League XX is the former Australia and New South Wales representative. The 28-year-old isn’t a washed up old Aussie looking for a final pay check, Carney is over here in the peak of his career – of course only due to an infamous indiscretion which led to the sack from former club Cronulla. The stand-off could turn the Dragons in to serious title contenders.
An injury in the pre-season friendly against Warrington might rule Kelly out of the start of the season, but if he stays out of trouble and produces the form that those Down Under say he’s capable of, Kelly could be a real player for Hull KR in 2015. Another Aussie who has had his troubles, Kelly is sure to be a player that puts bums on seats at the KC Lightstream Stadium – not that it sounds like they need any help at the moment, given the extremely positive news about a potential sell out against Leeds.
Ashton Sims (Warrington)
With Daryl Clark and this man settling in to a front-row that already includes the consistently brilliant Chris Hill, Warrington could have finally found the formula to win Super League. Sims, the Fijian international, is the sort of franchise player any club would want, and he will no doubt attract plenty of attention from opposition defences. He will be a player to create fireworks, especially in the Super 8s.
Ben Roberts (Castleford)
Another World Cup player returning to the UK is Samoan half-back Roberts, who joins Castleford from Melbourne. He played 18 games as the Storm reached the NRL play-offs, and he fills the void left by one of last season’s most unlikely success stories, Marc Sneyd, who moved to Hull after his loan spell at Castleford from Salford came to an end. How Castleford cope with the departure of Sneyd, Clark and even Craig Huby might be down to Roberts’ impact.
It was almost impossible to compile this list without including at least one of Hull KR’s new faces. Italy World Cup star Josh Mantellato was considered, but we plumped for Campese, who himself was close to representing the Italians in 2013. He’s been handed the captain’s armband by Chris Chester, which suggests he will have a massive part to play if Rovers are to make the top eight.
Willie Tonga (Catalans)
Powerful centre Tonga won 12 caps for Australia between 2004-11 and comes to Super League with Catalans having managed only three tries in 32 appearances for Parramatta over the past three seasons. That hasn’t deterred us from including him in this list though, and his link with Carney could be worth a truck load of points for the Dragons this season.
Who are you most looking forward to watching in Super League this season? Tell us in the comments box below.