OLDHAM have signed Salford Red Devils centre Nene Macdonald on a three-week loan.
Macdonald has not played for Salford since early March because of the club’s reduced salary cap.
It’s an extraordinary coup for ambitious Championship side Oldham, signing a member of last season’s Super League Dream Team.
Macdonald is in contention to debut this Sunday in their 1895 Cup quarter-final at home to Barrow Raiders.
He can also feature in their subsequent second-tier matches against Featherstone Rovers and Widnes Vikings while Oldham say there are “talking ongoing regarding his future thereafter”.
Papua New Guinea international Macdonald said: “I’ve been sitting on the sidelines all year, watching and dying to play. This opportunity has come up and I want to grab it with both hands.
“I’m as hungry as it gets right now. I have been flying around at training so eager to play and I will give it my all. I am a competitor and I don’t like losing any game.
“It has been hard at Salford but we have stuck together. For me at the moment I can’t play at all and I just want to play footy. It is a great opportunity for me.”
Salford said in a statement that the move allows Macdonald to “gain valuable match fitness due to restrictions with the sustainability cap imposed on the club.”
Oldham head coach Sean Long said: “To get someone of Nene’s quality to come and play Rugby League for Oldham just shows that we are heading in the right direction.
“I’m indebted to chairman Bill Quinn and managing director Mike Ford for getting this deal over the line.
“This shows we are doing a lot right on and off the field to be able to attract players of Nene’s calibre.”
