Warrington have confirmed the departure of two ex-NRL players.
One of them is returning to Australia.
The Warrington Wolves of the English Super League have confirmed two ex-NRL players among their end-of-season exits, with Thomas Mikaele and Peter Mata’utia concluding their contracts.
Mikaele, a middle forward who has recently moved about, will be leaving Warrington after less than a half-season.
In what has been a whirlwind 18 months for the 25-year-old, he departed Wests Tigers in the middle of 2022 for Warrington on a deal that was supposed to keep him at the club until the conclusion of the 2024 season. However, it was cut short when he signed with the Gold Coast Titans at the end of March this year for a second chance in the NRL.
He only played one game for the Titans before returning to the Wolves in England in August, following the departure of coach Daryl Powell.
However, it has now been confirmed that he will leave Warrington once more, with the club stating in a statement that he will return to Australia.
It’s uncertain whether any NRL team will pursue his signature for 2024 and beyond, although he offers 66 games of experience from his initial tenure with the Tigers between 2019 and 2022.
Mata’utia, on the other hand, has been in England since 2018 and with Warrington since 2022, having played 76 NRL games for the St George Illawarra Dragons and Newcastle Knights between 2011 and 2017.
He played for the Leigh Centurions (4 games) and the Castleford Tigers (51) before joining the Wolves, however the club has revealed that his stint with them has come to an end.
The 32-year-old, who can play numerous positions, has been a member of Warrington’s leadership group during his time at the club, but it’s unknown where he’ll go if he decides to continue his rugby league career.
