Widnes swoop for Galea
Widnes have signed back-rower Danny Galea from Canterbury Bulldogs for the 2014 season.
Galea, 29, has made more than 130 appearances in the NRL for Penrith, Wests and Canberra.
He said: “I’m good mates with Rhys Hanbury from our time spent alongside each other at the Tigers, and I’ve spoken with him on a number of occasions about my desire to come overseas and give it a go. One thing led to another and before too long I was contacted by James Rule.
“He filled me in on how the Club is run and it was clear that he has a fantastic relationship with his staff, and from what he explained, there is plenty of potential at Widnes and they are definitely a club on the rise.
“Apart from Rhys (Hanbury), I’ve got quite a few other old team-mates playing in the Super League, such as Brett Hodgson, Pat Richards, Ben Galea, Dean Collis, Trent Waterhouse and Joel Monaghan. I also keep an eye out for Damien Blanch who is the same age as me and someone who I grew up playing footy with, from when we were in the U10s together.
“The standard of the competition looks really impressive and apart from getting stuck into each other on the field, I’m also looking forward to re-contacting these blokes and renewing our friendships off the field.”
The signing of Galea, who is of Maltese descent, has been made possible thanks to the Viking Quid’s In (VIQI) scheme, which raises funds to assist the club with recruitment.
Vikings coach Denis Betts said: “We were looking for a solid, hard-working club man to come in and do a good job for us, make us a better team and contribute to the whole organisation.
“Danny is a really strong back rower and a great defensive player, and we’ve had lots of good wraps on him, coming out of Australia.
“With all due respect, a lot of people may not know who he is immediately, but he has a fantastic pedigree and is a former Australian Schoolboys representative. He’s played a large number of NRL games at First Grade level and I’m confident that he will surprise a few people when he comes over to these shores and runs out onto the field for us.”