Haines came off the bench and scored a try for Souths in last month's decider but on Friday night it was announced he would link back up with Kurri Kurri, who went winless in 2023.

It follows this week's revelation that former NRL, NSW and Australian representative Blake Ferguson signed for Kurri in 2024.

Haines debuted for Wests in a Newcastle RL preliminary final at Kurri Sportsground in 2016 before joining the Bulldogs and falling one short of a title showdown two years later.

The talented playmaker represented the Newcastle Rebels and NSW Pioneers in 2019.

Haines sat out 2020 because of COVID, had a short stint with Maitland in 2021 and eventually played for group 3 outfit Wingham last year following a prolonged-contract stalemate between Kurri and Cessnock.

He was mostly used as a utility at Souths this season.

Kurri, now coached by Rip Taylor, also announced the signing of Jesse O'Connor (Northern Hawks) this week while Tyler Le Prince-Campbell recently committed to stay at the Coalfields club.

Under an adjusted player points system introduced by Newcastle RL for next season, Kurri are allocated a maximum 145 each game day because of a sliding scale based on competition rankings.

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