Whitehaven have signed two of Wigan Warriors’ young stars on loan for a month after both impressed at the LEL Arena in January.
They have added Jack Douglas and Junior Nsemba to Jonty Gorley’s match day squad for Sunday’s first Championship home game against London Broncos.
Which means Douglas and Nsemba are set for an interesting reunion with two of their team-mates – Harvie Hill and Zach Eckersley who have gone ton Broncos for a month.
Douglas is a winger who has been promoted to the Wigan first team squad for the 2023 season ahead.
He joined the club’s academy system in 2019 and in the recent game at the LEL Arena scored the first try for a young Warriors side in the win over Haven.
Nsemba, a prop or second-row, who also started the game, is a Wigan St Pats junior who made his debut for the Warriors vs Hull KR towards the end of the 2022 Super League season.
Head coach Jonty Gorley said: “After seeing the duo when we took on Wigan and seeing how athletic they are I jumped at the opportunity to bring them in once they become available as they fill gaps in positions where we are short.
“We’ve seen what they can do in the game against ourselves, Junior was a danger all afternoon while when Jacob got the ball in space he’s got pace to burn. It’s good to be able have them in the squad for the next few weeks.”
Director Ashley Kilpatrick added: “We’re delighted to bring the lads up for the next month and it’s good for us to be able to bring the youngsters into the club. I think this shows the good working partnership with Wigan that started with Darrell Goulding and now with Shane Eccles.
“I had a good conversation with Shane when we played Wigan as well as Matty Peet about getting players on loan.
“We’re excited to get Junior and Jacob on board for the next month. Junior was one of the top targets to try and get on loan if we got the chance because of how highly rated he is at the club.
“Similarly Jacob has just been promoted to the first team squad and showed his speed against us back in the friendly and we are hoping he’ll get the opportunity to show that this time in a Haven shirt.”
