NRL club finds alternative to Wigan Warriors star they pursued heavily
Rugby League - 2020 Super League - Round 13 - Wigan Warriors vs Wakefield Trinity Wigan Warriors s Bevan French scores his sides second try, at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington COLORSPORT/TERRY DONNELLY PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUK
The NRL is a busy place at present as clubs plan signings for 2024 and others look to add a few more faces for 2023.
That’s been the case at Wests Tigers and Newcastle Knights. The two took part in a swap deal which saw David Klemmer leave the Knights for the Tigers and former Salford Red Devils and Wigan Warriors halfback Jackson Hastings go the other direction to the Knights.
The Tigers are chasing a number of targets including Wigan Warriors star John Bateman.
Meanwhile, the Knights aren’t done yet.
They are in the market for a fullback perhaps regretting the loss of Tex Hoy to Hull FC as they hope to move Kayln Ponga into the halves next to Hastings.
However, they have also been in the market for a winger despite having England star Dom Young on the wing who has been scoring tries for fun throughout 2022.
This is why they chased Bevan French so heavily throughout the 2022 season until Wigan were able to tie him down to a two-year deal with an option for a further two on the top of that.
However, having failed in their pursuit of French, they now have a new target and are looking to use another swap deal to pull it off.
According to Fox League, the Knights could swap back up hooker Chris Randall for Gold Coast Titans winger Greg Marzhew.
It would leave the Knights with limited options at nine especially as Randall played 17 games last year through injuries.