
Warrington Wolves confirm Thomas Mikaele has rejoined the club on a short-term deal from NRL side Gold Coast Titans for the remainder of the 2023 season.
The powerful prop forward, who originally signed for Wire midway through the 2022 season, returns after initially being granted permission to return to Australia on compassionate grounds.
In his previous spell at the Halliwell Jones, Mikaele made a total of 18 appearances, and scored four tries.
Speaking on his return to the Wire, Thomas Mikaele said: “It’s been a weird year for me so far. There’s been some changes and obviously things haven’t gone the way they were planned for me since returning to the NRL.
“But I’ve been given the opportunity to come back and be a part of something special that we had going on earlier in the year at Warrington. I’m happy my family is sorted back home and I’m excited to get back to the UK to reconnect with the lads and play in front of the Wire crowd again which I’ve missed.”
“The whole club and town were good to me so it’s only fitting I get to return and contribute to a hopefully successful end to the year.”
Warrington Wolves Interim Head Coach Gary Chambers also gave his thoughts on Mikaele’s return to Warrington, saying: “We’re excited to welcome Thomas back into the set-up.”
He added: “Every minor detail has been covered to ensure he’s as fresh as possible to give him the best chance of playing this Friday. We’ll assess on Thursday if he’s ready to go.”
“He’s a handful for any defence. He’s a threat with the ball in hand and in defence as well. He was playing consistently well at the start of the year and hopefully he can find that form again for us over the next few months.”
Mikaele will land back in the UK today, and is in line to feature in the game against Catalans on Friday, as he has been named in the 21-man-squad to take on the league leaders.
Warrington’s squad this week also features Jordy Crowther, who could make his debut in Primrose and Blue after his mid-season move from Wakefield Trinity. Elsewhere in the pack, Mikaele could link up with former partner Paul Vaughan in the middle, a combination which worked wonders for them earlier in the season. St Helens bound Daryl Clark is also named in the squad.
Turning the attention over to the backs, George Williams is included in the squad. Stefan Ratchford and Peter Mata’utia will likely feature in the centres as both are included. The ever dangerous Josh Thewlis is in the squad, however there is the notable absence of Matty Ashton from the squad this week; which is thought to be injury related.
There is also no room for Riley Dean this week, after the halfback was recalled from his loan at Castleford.
