KIWI prop Renouf Atoni is ready to hit the ground running after jetting into the UK to link up with Wakefield Trinity.
The ex-Sydney Roosters player has started training under new coaching duo Mark Applegarth and his assistant James Ford as Trinity prepare for a Boxing Day run-out against Leeds at Headingley (11.30am).
The Wetherby Whaler Festive Challenge next Monday (December 26) is the first of four pre-season matches for Wakefield.
They host Halifax in centre Reece Lyne’s testimonial on Sunday, January 15, Featherstone on Sunday, January 29 and Hull on Sunday, February 5.
Those three games will take place on a newly-laid pitch at the Be Well Support Stadium, which is undergoing redevelopment.
Wakefield are also at home in round one of Super League, with Catalans Dragons visiting on Friday, February 17.
That match provides an early chance for newly-signed centre Samisoni Langi to face his former club.
The Australian-born 29-year-old, who represented Tonga at the 2013 World Cup and France in this year’s tournament, having qualified through residency after five seasons at Catalans, has penned a two-year Trinity deal.
Atoni, 27, who has also played for Canterbury Bulldogs, was released halfway through his Roosters contract to sign for Wakefield on twelve-month terms with the option of another year.
He is aiming to make his mark after being unable to force his way into the Roosters’ first-grade line-up, instead making 14 appearances for their feeder team North Sydney Bears in the New South Wales Cup.
