Warrington Wolves confirm Thomas Mikaele short-term return

The club have confirmed they have concluded a deal to bring the popular prop forward back from NRL side Gold Coast Titans.

The 25-year-old returns on a short-term deal and will spend the remainder of 2023 at The Halliwell Jones Stadium before returning to Australia.

He is understood to be arriving in the UK today and is in contention to feature against Catalans Dragons on Friday.

“It’s been a weird year for me so far," Mikaele said.

"There’s been some changes and obviously things haven’t gone the way they were planned for me since returning to the NRL.

“But I’ve been given the opportunity to come back and be a part of something special that we had going on earlier in the year at Warrington.

"I’m happy my family is sorted back home and I’m excited to get back to the UK to reconnect with the lads and play in front of the Wire crowd again, which I’ve missed. 

“The whole club and town were good to me so it’s only fitting I get to return and contribute to a hopefully successful end to the year.”

Mikaele scored three times in seven games earlier this season and formed a formidable front-row partnership with Paul Vaughan (Image: PA)

Mikaele joined the club from Wests Tigers midway through last season, making 11 appearances at the back end of the 2022 season.

He then started 2023 in fine form, touching down for three tries in seven appearances as The Wire flew out of the traps.

However, they were dealt a huge blow when Mikaele was allowed to return to Australia on compassionate grounds with his family struggling to settle in England.

He joined the Titans but has since played just once in the NRL, opening up the chance for him to return.

“We’re excited to welcome Thomas back into the set-up," interim head coach Gary Chambers said.

“Every minor detail has been covered to ensure he’s as fresh as possible to give him the best chance of playing this Friday.

"We’ll assess on Thursday if he’s ready to go.

“He’s a handful for any defence. He’s a threat with the ball in hand and in defence as well.

"He was playing consistently well at the start of the year and hopefully he can find that form again for us over the next few months.”