After being impressed by his trial period at the club Whitehaven have signed Kells’ prop forward Ross Ainley for the 2023 season.
Ainley linked-up with Haven for pre-season training and featured in all three pre-season friendlies against Workington Town, Wigan Warriors and Castleford Tigers.
He is in contention to make his competitive debut this weekend at the start of the Betfred Championship away to Bradford Bulls.
Whitehaven head coach Jonty Gorley said: “I’ve known about Ross and heard nothing but good things about him for a couple of seasons now.
“Even though he had a really bad injury a few years ago, he got over that and was at the forefront of what Kells were doing.
“Ross has done a full pre-season with us and has not looked out of place one bit. He has fitted in right away, both with his attitude and effort at training and with the way he is as a person.
“He is unassuming and he won’t mind me saying, coming across as a bit shy. I don’t think Ross fully understands how good he can be.
“He has all the attributes for him to be able to thrive in the Championship as a middle.
“I’m glad he decided to do pre-season with us and test himself and eventually sign with us. All the players have commented about how well he’s gone in the friendlies. I’m sure Ross will be a valuable member of our squad.”
Director Ashley Kilpatrick added: “I’m delighted to be able to add Ross to the squad. He hasn’t looked out of place in the pre-season fixtures.
“We would like to thank Kells coach Peter Smith and his club for developing Ross into the player he is.
“Ross is just the latest in a long line of players who have made the transition from Kells to the club.
“He is somebody I’ve been trying to get Jonty to look at for the last few seasons and he has slotted in right away with the squad.”
