WIGAN WARRIORS starlet Tom Forber has made a short-term loan move to a Championship club ahead of the 2023 season.
As preparations continue for Super League, the Championship is already two weeks old and Forber has made the switch to Whitehaven on a month’s loan.
With James Newton and Callum Phillips long-term absentees and with the loss of Josh Eaves during pre-season, the Haven squad has been left thin at hooker with Marcus O’Brien deputing in the position throughout the early weeks of the campaign.
Head coach Jonty Gorley spoke about the capture of Forber, saying: “To get Tom Forber from Wigan is a relief more than anything for me. Tom played against us in the friendly and played really well and was one of their top performers.
“The situation we are in regarding hookers is this: Callum Phillips is out until around May time but James Newton could be available for the Swinton game, those two are my recognised hookers.
“Because of the injuries to those two, I have been looking for a hooker for some time now, after Josh Eaves left us after pre-season had started.
“This meant I’ve had to use Marcus O’Brien as a 9. “Cus” has been a standout performer for me, he has done a great job and even though it’s early in the season Marcus has played big minutes with a knee injury, that shows his character and attitude.
“Getting Tom for a couple of weeks will lighten the load on “Cus”, especially with Newton coming back next week hopefully.
“Tom will add a specialist hookers role to our team and like I said, he played a real big part for Wigan when they beat us.
“He ties the markers up well and is a general all round good hooker, he’s got the typical Wigan traits of toughness and good core skills.
Departing director Ashley Kilpatrick said: “It”s great to get Tom on board, we saw what he could do against us in pre-season and controlled the ruck in the second half.
“He has experience of playing in the Championship and League One with Newcastle and Oldham respectively. Our thanks go to Wigan Warriors for allowing Tom to join us for the next month.”
