LIAM Wiscombe is poised to become the third mid-season signing at Wests in as many weeks, training with the Rosellas on Tuesday and now awaiting an official clearance.
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Wiscombe returns to previous Newcastle Rugby League club Wests after leaving to link with Queensland Cup side the Burleigh Bears in 2023.
Born in Wagga Wagga and playing 18 NSW Cup games for the Knights last year, Wiscombe joins recent recruits Luke Walsh (Northern Hawks) and Ngangarra Barker (Souths) at Harker Oval.
Round nine sees Wests travel to meet Central at St John Oval on Sunday but Rosellas coach Rick Stone remains unsure if second-rower Wiscombe will be out in the middle.
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"He's back [at Wests] and trained with us on Tuesday but I'm not sure if he's going to be cleared this week to be honest, we're working through the process with Burleigh at the moment," Stone told the Newcastle Herald.
"But he should add a bit of thrust to us as well. Since the start of the season [we've picked up] some boys on the fringes of NSW Cup, now Walshy, possibly Liam Wiscombe and Ngangarra Barker - it's been a couple of decent additions to our team for sure."
Wests, alongside Central and Lakes, have a 2-5 record so far this season and sit in a three-way share of seventh spot on the ladder but are only four points shy of the top five (10).
"Our first grade team is a bit stronger now and competition for positions is a little bit tougher. So even though it's not showing in the win-loss column we're definitely tracking the right way, we've just got to start showing it on the table," Stone said.
The former Knights mentor now has an all-NRL halves combination with Walsh and Ryan Stig named to start against the Butcher Boys while Max Buderus drops back to the bench.
"It just helps our depth in the halves and with a couple of experienced blokes hopefully we can get a bit of continuity," Stone said.
"Because our attack, to be honest, has been spluttering a little bit and we haven't quite found our groove to score points, which is something we need to fix."
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Josh Callinan
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
