Whitehaven RL are delighted to announce the signing of James Newton from Workington Town on a three year deal for his second spell with the club.
The 26 year old former Hull FC academy hooker made over 100 appearances for the club in his first spell from the 2013 season to the end of the 2017. He left the club to sign for Workington Town for the 2018 season and made 27 appearances scoring two tries but will wear the Chocolate, Blue and Gold until the end of 2021.
Speaking about re-signing for the club Newton said "This was a really hard decision for me to make but after serval discussions with the Workington board and Leon I felt coming back to Whitehaven would be best for me to play rugby week in week out with a smile on my face. The financial benefits of rugby are great but all I want to do is play every week and give 100% for whatever club that maybe. At Whitehaven it will feel like coming back home for me and my family and I want to get Whitehaven back in places they should be after the hard times they went through. I can’t wait to get stuck into pre season with Charlo, Jonty and the boys I am sure we will have some tough sessions coming our way through the coming weeks leading into the seasons starts. I hope this local based team can start bringing the crowds back into the Recre.”
Head coach Gary Charlton made Newton one of his primary targets and was ecstatic to get the deal over the line saying "James adds plenty of toughness and enthusiasm to our team he also possesses a good kicking game from dummy half as well as a decent turn of pace, we are really pleased to have him on board and will complement the other players in our squad.”
Newton is the 18th squad member for next season with the start of pre-season less than two weeks away.
