NSW Cup premiership back Honeti Tuah heads an ambitious recruiting drive by the Cessnock Goannas for the 2022 season.
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Tuah was best afield in the Newcastle Knights 2015 NSW Cup premiership and has enjoyed stints with Wentworthville Magpies, Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles and Newtown Jets in the NSW Cup since.
He was an integral part of Lakes United's 2015 Newcastle RL premiership and played for Newtown Jets feeder club Glebe in their 2020 President's Cup grand final loss to Maitland.
Cessnock coach Harry Sejka said Tuha was the headline act of the recruiting drive to date which also sees the return of 2019 grand finalist Josh Charles to the Goannas.
Other confirmed signings are backrower Wyatt Shaw's brother Dusty and Macquarie forward Jack Jordan who previously played with Parramatta's Jersey Flegg side.
The Goannas are still in discussions with several players including a a Super League experienced half and a young No.9 from New Zealand.
Sejka said the initial priority was re-signing the 2021 team which had finished second behind Maitland before the Newcastle RL season was halted on the eve of the finals.
He said 2021 player of the year AJ Davis had decided to move on and veteran playmaker Scott Briggs had retired.
Centre Tyrone Roberts-Davis and hooker Billy Gilbert are both training with the Knights over summer and any commitment to Cessnock will be dependent on whether they earn contracts.
Roberts-Davis had been linked with the Northern Hawks, who have been ruled out of the 2022 Newcastle RL season, but Sejka was confident he would be at the Goannas if he plays locally.
"I've got to try and catch up with Tyrone but he has told me he doesn't want to leave so we're confident of getting him back on board," he said.
Sejka said Briggs would be hard to replace because of his experience.
"I really rated him. AJ as well is going so it puts myself in the halves there and another guy I'm looking at who has a fair bit of Super League experience," he said.
"If he comes home to Australia it will be with us but he may stay and play there. If not we will probably look at bringing a young kid through and sort of a ball-running six."
Sejcka said Charles was a key part of his planning with his experience and example important in the development of a number of juniors he hoped to bring through to first grade this season.
"He is worth his weight in gold Joshy. He is a competitor and when you are bringing younger blokes through they need to see older blokes doing it," Sejka said. "He is really someone I'm looking forward to working with."
Sejka said he is confident any losses of personnel would be more than covered by the new recruits.
"We're in a really good position at the moment," he said.
