WORKINGTON TOWN head coach Jonty Gorley has hailed Grant Reid for doing the fitness work required to earn a new contract.

Reid, 27, has signed a fresh one-year deal despite making only five appearances last season.

In his previous two years at hometown club Workington, the prop played a total of 33 times.

Gorley has explained the challenge he gave Reid, saying: “Grant was out of contract after last season and admittedly didn’t get a lot of game time due to the other middles we’ve got.

“The conversation was that I was prepared to provide an opportunity to Grant to remain with us, as long as he worked on certain things to improve his game. One of those was his fitness.

“He has certainly taken that on board, which is a huge credit to him. He’s come back into pre-season probably the fittest he’s ever been.

“He’s at the front of most of the conditioning work we’re doing – (weighing) at 120kg, that’s a great effort.

“Now it’s up to Grant to grab this opportunity and to transfer his fitness onto the field and improve in the areas in his game that I want him to.

“Being considerably fitter will give him the base platform to make those improvements.”

Meanwhile, the future of Town winger Levi Atiga remains uncertain after an autumn of speculation.

Atiga signed a new deal for 2026 after scoring nine tries in 17 appearances during his first year at the club, but he is yet to return to the UK from New Zealand.

The 24-year-old was linked with a move to Salford Red Devils before the club was wound up over its financial issues.

Workington say that a compensation package was agreed with Salford in September for Atiga’s transfer, but that no further communication followed with a first payment in early November not forthcoming.

The player’s mother, Tracy Atiga, was one of the unsuccessful parties bidding to form a new Salford club, a task instead given to a consortium fronted by Mason Caton-Brown.

Town have asserted their desire for Atiga to fulfil his contract in Cumbria and warned any club interested in signing him would need to make an official approach.

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