Whitehaven have signed the Newcastle Thunder half-back Dan Coates on a month’s loan.
It’s a case of second time lucky for Haven coach Jonty Gorley as he has tried to sign the 22-year-old before.
He is a product of the Newcastle Academy and was playing in their reserves before he switched to play with Coventry in League One.
Last season he broke the record for the most points scored by a Coventry player in League One.
In the winter he opted to sign for London Broncos but after playing three games he returned to Newcastle saying it hadn’t worked out for him in the capital.
Following the loss of loanee half-back Cesar Rouge this week the club moved quickly to strengthen Gorley’s squad ahead of this weekend’s derby clash at Barrow Raiders.
Coates has played six times for the Thunder since his return from London.
Head coach Gorley said: “It’s good to have Dan on a month’s loan from Newcastle. Dan will give us cover at half and possibly 9. It’s cover we desperately need as it’s well documented that Caesar had to return to France.
“On top of this Geronimo Doyle reinjured his arm last week which means I will be playing Karl Dixon in the centre so I needed another half.
“I nearly signed Dan at the start of this season only for him to try his luck down in the capital with London, which I can understand being an attraction for a young lad.
“Dan will take some pressure off Nikau in the kicking department as he has a good kicking game. Add to this Dan is quite a smart player with ball in hand, so hopefully we will see him at his best.”
Director Ashley Kilpatrick revealed the club had previously unsuccessfully chased Coates but was glad to get his man at last.
He said: “ We’re delighted to welcome Dan for the next month as he is a half-back we have pursued for a long time.
“We tried to sign Dan before he went to London Broncos at the start of the season and we tried to sign him again before he went back to Newcastle when he left London, so it’s third time lucky for us.
“He’s a young half with a good kicking game on him sand he scored a lot of points when playing for Coventry in 2021.
“I’d like to thank Jordan Robinson and Dennis Betts for making the move happen.”
