One Championship club have signed a new winger for the 2026 season following their exit from a Super League hopeful.
Joe Brown was among the seven players that York Knights bid farewell to at the end of their impressive season that ended in heartbreak.
The Knights won both the 1895 Cup and the League Leaders Shield but could not complete the treble, incredibly losing the final despite not conceding a try.
Toulouse edged it 10-8 with all the French side’s points coming from the boot of Jake Shorrocks as the Olympians not only secured silverware but a vital 0.25 IMG points.
That could be enough to push Toulouse back into Super League but both them and York will have to wait to find out that.
One side who know they will be playing in the Championship, or whatever the second-tier is named when the Champ and League One amalgamate for 2026, is Sheffield Eagles and they’ve now confirmed the signing of Brown on a two-year deal.
Sheffield Eagles sign winger from Championship top dogs
Sheffield had a tough season in 2025, their first campaign since the exit of club legend Mark Aston, as they finished 11th on the ladder.
It was a long way from their play-off ambitions but Craig Lingard’s side have started their recruitment for 2026 early with Joe Brown the first.
Brown scored seven in 17 last year for the Knights but was more prolific in 2024, scoring 19 in 32 and Sheffield will be hoping that the 26-year-old can rediscover that form with more regular game time.
Across his 110 appearances with York, he scored just over one every other game as he ran in 56 tries over his four-year spell.
Brown had signed for York from Bradford, his boyhood club, though he had left their academy for Wigan’s before making the switch back.
Speaking on his move, Brown said: “I’m really excited to be joining. As soon as I spoke to Linners (Craig Lingard), he got me excited, and I can’t wait to be back enjoying my rugby again.
“I’ve got lots of happy memories from my time at York, but I feel now is the right time to try something different. I’m ready for a new challenge, and this one I’m really looking forward to.”
As the first signing for 2026, Lingard praised Brown as a “top-quality Championship winger”, hailing his foundations at both Wigan and Bradford.
He added: “He’s a proven try scorer in this league, a big physical presence, and he’ll give us real natural strike and aerial ability on our edge over the next two seasons.”
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