Warrington confirm Penny return

Warrington have confirmed the return of winger Kevin Penny for the 2014 season.

Penny, 25, burst on to the scene with the Wolves in 2007, scoring 15 tries in 15 games, and earning himself a place in the Super League Dream Team.

However, he struggled in subsequent seasons, and after loan spells at Widnes and Harlequins, he moved on to Wakefield in 2011.

A further loan spell at Widnes followed, before he joined Championship side Swinton ahead of the 2012 season.

He said: “It’s not fully sunk in yet. I am made up to be coming back into the full-time environment after a couple of years working in a normal job as well. It won’t be like going to a new club where you need to settle into the surroundings and facilities as I know a lot already so it will be easier for me and I’m looking forward to it.

“I’ve always said that Tony’s been the best coach I’ve ever had and we have remained friends. It means a lot to me and gives me a lot of confidence knowing that he wants me to come back to the club.”

It has been at Swinton, who have a partnership with the Wolves, that he has once again caught the eye of coach Smith.

Smith said: “We are delighted to give Kevin another opportunity. He’s gone away, had to go back a level or two to learn some more about Rugby League and we think it’s terrific that he’s got another chance to come back here and show what he’s learnt.

“We’ve been monitoring him for the last couple of years and watched his progress at Swinton; he’s turned into a terrific player. He’s always had very good attributes but he’s now learnt how to put these into place on a more regular basis which was the key for Kevin; he needed to learn more about Rugby League in order to apply them.”