PAPUA NEW GUINEA World Cup star Emmanuel Waine will be moving to the UK for 2023 after being snapped up ahead of the new Championship season by London Broncos.
The 26-year-old back-row middle joins from the PNG Hunters who compete in the Hostplus Cup, the second tier of Rugby League in Australia, and has more recently been training with NRL side The Dolphins.
Waine started in Papua New Guinea’s 36-0 win over Wales at the recent Rugby League World Cup where he combined with new teammate Wellington Albert.
The powerful prop can’t wait to journey over to the UK and begin in his first campaign with the Broncos: “This is a really exciting opportunity for me, and I’m pleased to be part of the Broncos squad,” said Emmanuel. “I enjoyed my first World Cup in the UK during the autumn which was a great experience and hopefully I can develop my own game in the coming months.
“It will be good to link up with Welly again and meet my other new teammates. I’ve kept myself fit by training with The Dolphins and will be ready to go straight into battle when I arrive.”
Mike Eccles was equally pleased to add Waine to his squad and described him as an explosive and dynamic individual.
“Emmanuel is a very explosive and dynamic player who will be hard to handle when carrying the ball,” said Eccles. “He’ll compliment our current squad really well and joins from a fantastic background.
“We’re delighted to have him onboard and look forward to his arrival in the UK. His World Cup performances for Papua New Guinea really caught our attention where he partnered well with Welly (Wellington Albert).
“We won’t be rushed into making signings for the sake of it. It’s a priority to ensure every player we recruit adds real quality to the team and Emmanuel ticks this box and can help push the Broncos forward.”
