Hull Kingston Rovers have confirmed the signings of halfback Jamie Ellis and Ryan Brierley on one-year deals.
As first revealed on TotalRL, the pair have become the Robins’ 19th and 20th signings respectively in what is likely to be the culmination of Tony Smith’s mammoth recruitment drive.
It leaves the Robins with five halfbacks for next year, with the pair competing for a place with Jordan Abdull, Joe Keyes and Mikey Lewis.
Ellis arrives from Castleford for his second spell with the club, having played for the club in their 2017 promotion season.
Brierley, meanwhile, joins after almost three years with Toronto.
“Ryan has developed a lot more aspects to his game over the last few years,” Smith said.
“By his own self-admittance he was known as a terrific support runner and scoring plenty of tries, but he has worked hard to do more. We are happy to develop those skills further and he is coming to a place where he feels he can develop his career further.”
On Ellis, he added: “Jamie probably does not fit into the main brief of our 2020 recruitment criteria in terms of being ‘young and ambitious’ but upon meeting him and listening to his passion for the club, having already played with this team, it was great to hear.
“He loved his time here, still loves the club and had a very strong desire to express that. He convinced me that he is really ambitious and wants to do his best here.”
