{"id":378931,"date":"2025-12-29T20:38:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T20:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/378931\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T20:38:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T20:38:12","slug":"big-name-championship-signings-for-2026-total-rugby-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/378931\/","title":{"rendered":"Big-name Championship signings for 2026 \u2013 Total Rugby League"},"content":{"rendered":"

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WITH some of the big Championship challengers of the last few seasons now elevated to an expanded 14-team Super League, more teams than ever before will have their eyes on earning major success in the game\u2019s second tier competition.<\/p>\n

And in order for them to do that, some have made some eye-catching signings that they believe will help them lead the way.<\/p>\n

Here Rugby League World takes a look at six such signings worth shouting about.<\/p>\n

TEE RITSON<\/p>\n

IN his first spell at Barrow Raiders, Thailand international Tee Ritson quickly became a fans favourite \u2013 scoring 70 tries in 73 appearance between 2019 and 2022 when his attacking exploits were picked up by Super League side St Helens.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for Ritson, first team opportunities were hard to come by at Saints and after spending time at Swinton on dual registration in 2024, he spent most of last season back at the Raiders on loan. That move back to Cumbria has now been made permanent with a two-year deal, and Barrow will certainly benefit from that.<\/p>\n

MUIZZ MUSTAPHA<\/p>\n

AFTER enjoying perhaps one of the best seasons in his career, which saw him score three tries in 17 appearance, Nigeria-born Muizz Mustapha was released by Castleford Tigers, where he spent a total of three seasons.<\/p>\n

Having also played Super League for Leeds Rhinos and Hull KR, this move to Doncaster will be the first time the prop has signed a permanent deal outside of the top flight.<\/p>\n

His size and strength will no doubt cause multiple problems to opposition defences as Richard Horne\u2019s side go in search of silverware.\u00a0<\/p>\n

DAN OKORO<\/p>\n

HAVING struggled to find a settled home over the last couple of seasons, Dan Okoro will be hoping his move to Halifax Panthers gives him the chance to play regular, competitive rugby.<\/p>\n

The prop, who started at Hull KR without making a senior appearance, joined Bradford in 2023 and then signed a three year-deal with Warrington in April 2024. He didn\u2019t feature in a first team game for them either \u2013 instead spending time away on loan in the Championship and at Castleford. He has now been released by the Wolves, and should prove to be an astute signing for Halifax.<\/p>\n

SILIVA HAVILI<\/p>\n

WITH a new look and new financial backers, London Broncos were likely to be one of the favourites for the title anyway, even before new owners Darren Lockyer and Grant Wechsel used their connections down under to tempt numerous NRL stars over.<\/p>\n

One of those making the move is New Zealand and Tonga international Siliva Havili, who will bring an uncompromising style of play to the Broncos.\u00a0<\/p>\n

More commonly a hooker, Havili can also play in the back row adding some useful utility value to Jason Demetriou\u2019s new look squad.<\/p>\n

MATTY RUSSELL<\/p>\n

SCOTLAND international and former Super League Grand Finalist Matty Russell is back from injury and looking to return to his best form with Oldham.<\/p>\n

The Roughyeds already have a squad filled with Super League talent and Russell\u2019s inclusion in that will strengthen the belief that Oldham can be real challengers for a future place in Super League.<\/p>\n

The former Wigan, Warrington, Toronto, Leigh and Toulouse back started last season at Wakefield before a knee injury put an early end to his campaign, and he will be determined to show what he can do at Boundary Park.<\/p>\n

GEORGE GRIFFIN<\/p>\n

WITH over 230 Super League appearances under his belt, George Griffin will add some real experience to Craig Lingard\u2019s pack at Sheffield Eagles.<\/p>\n

The 33-year-old played for Hull KR and Salford before his move to Castleford in 2020, where he became in integral part of the Tigers squad.<\/p>\n

His leadership qualities, both on and off the field will also be a big asset for the Eagles, who will be looking for a settled, but also positive season in 2026 after last season\u2019s troubles regarding the departure of club stalwart Mark Aston.<\/p>\n

First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 516 (January 2026)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WITH some of the big Championship challengers of the last few seasons now elevated to an expanded 14-team…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":378932,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-378931","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-rugby","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}