Championship side add World Cup star days before season starts

London Broncos have made a last minute move for Emmanuel Waine with the Papua New Guinea international being recruited just four days ahead of their opening Championship match on Sunday.

Still down under at the moment he’ll miss the opener against Batley Bulldogs but he brings some much needed reinforcements to the team from the capital.

The Broncos played just once in pre-season against cross-city rivals London Skolars and ran out easy victors, but with just a 22-man squad for the season, and the loss of Italian international Ronny Palumbo just a fortnight ago they’ll be grateful to have signed Waine.

His move is still subject to VISA approval but the team confirmed the news via their website.

“The 26-year-old back-row middle joins from the PNG Hunters who compete in the Hostplus
Cup, the second tier of Rugby League in Australia, and has more recently been training with
NRL side The Dolphins.”

The Dolphins of course are the side that Wayne Bennett and Kristian Woolf are coaching, highlighting that he won’t have skipped a beat in pre-season and will be ready for action once he arrives.

That arrival will be a return to England following his World Cup appearances here for his native PNG, including in the 36-0 win over Wales.

He joins fellow Papua New Guinea star Wellington Albert at the Broncos and spoke of his excitement.

“This is a really exciting opportunity for me, and I’m pleased to be part of the Broncos
squad,” said Emmanuel. “I enjoyed my first World Cup in the UK during the autumn which
was a great experience and hopefully I can develop my own game in the coming months.

“It will be good to link up with Welly again and meet my other new teammates. I’ve kept
myself fit by training with The Dolphins and will be ready to go straight into battle when I
arrive.”

Mike Eccles was equally pleased to add Waine to his squad and described him as an
explosive and dynamic individual.

“Emmanuel is a very explosive and dynamic player who will be hard to handle when carrying
the ball,” said Eccles. “He’ll compliment our current squad really well and joins from a
fantastic background.

“We’re delighted to have him onboard and look forward to his arrival in the UK. His World
Cup performances for Papua New Guinea really caught our attention where he partnered
well with Welly (Wellington Albert).

“We won’t be rushed into making signings for the sake of it. It’s a priority to ensure every
player we recruit adds real quality to the team and Emmanuel ticks this box and can help
push the Broncos forward.”