Forber signs on loan
Whitehaven RL can announce the loan signing of hooker Tom Forber on a month's loan from Betfred Super League side Wigan Warriors to ease the pressure around Jonty Gorley's options at 9.
With James Newton and Callum Phillips long terms absentees from 2022 and the loss of Josh Eaves during preseason left the squad thin at hooker with Marcus O'Brien deputing in the position throughout the early weeks of the campaign.
But the club's search for a hooker has now concluded with the signing of Forber following impressing in Haven's pre-season clash with the Warriors. Head coach Jonty Gorley spoke about the capture of Forber saying "To get Tom Forber from Wigan is a relief more than anything for me. Tom played against us in the friendly and played really well and was one of their top performers.
The situation we are in regarding hookers is this: Callum Phillips is out until around May time but James Newton could be available for the Swinton game, those two are my recognised hookers.
Because of the injuries to those two, I have been looking for a hooker for some time now, after Josh eaves left us after pre-season had started. This meant I've had to use Marcus O'Brien as a 9. "Cus" has been a standout performer for me, he has done a great job and even though it's early in the season Marcus has played big minutes with a knee injury, that shows his character and attitude.
Getting Tom for a couple of weeks will lighten the load on "Cus", especially with Newton coming back next week hopefully.
Tom will add a specialist hookers role to our team and like I said, he played a real big part for Wigan when they beat us. He ties the markers up well and is a general all round good hooker, he's got the typical Wigan traits of toughness and good core skills.
Departing director Ashley Kilpatrick spoke about Forber saying "it's great to get Tom on board, we saw what he could against us in pre-season and controlled the ruck in the second half. He has experience of playing in the Championship and League 1 with Newcastle and Oldham respectively. Our thanks go to Wigan Warriors for allowing Tom to join us for the next month."