Whitehaven RLFC coach Carl Forster believes his squad is shaping up nicely after a five-player swoop.

St Benedict’s outside centre Kurt Maudling is the latest to join Forster’s rebuild at the Recreation Ground after young North Wales forward Tommy Holland and former Rochdale and Widnes half back and hooker Paul Crook joined the club on Tuesday.

James Newton and Jordan Burns have also both re-signed.

The relegated side have been rebuilding for life in League One next term after dropping out of the Championship with rivals Workington.

Forster said: “The new signings are massive. I know Crooky on a personal level and as soon as he was available I went all out to get him.

“His leadership on the pitch will put us in good stead. I wanted to keep everybody, but we were never going to be able to keep everyone.

“Getting James Newton and Jordan Burns tied down was massive. They’re fans’ favourites and it’s great to have them on board.”

Forster has also been boosted by the additions of versatile forward James Tilley and Steven Roper.

However, former favourite Ben Davies joined Championship Oldham following Haven’s relegation.

Former Salford star Forster became the league’s youngest coach at 24 last month and Anthony Stewart has signed up as his assistant.

Forster said that the club were in talks to add some more players to his squad, but remained tight-lipped as to who they are.

Earlier this week, he revealed that he had plans to bring in some amateur players for the new season.

He added: “We’re waiting to dot i’s and cross t’s on a few players.

“I don’t want a massive squad, but we need enough to cover injuries and suspensions.

“With a large squad it’s hard to keep everyone happy, but we need competition for places.

“I’m loving it. It’s a bit more stressful than I thought it was going to be. Hopefully it’ll all be worth it.”

The players are due to return to training in mid-November and several warm-up games are being planned ahead of the start of the new season.

Meanwhile, O’Neills will return as the club’s kit manufacturer for next season, with designs for the new kits in progress.

Whitehaven’s Player of the Year last season, Dave Allen, has been included in Ireland’s 22-man squad for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifiers.

The Irish are aiming to build on a 58-10 win over Malta by beating Jamaica in Bray next weekend.

Ugo Perez, the Catalans forward who spent the last three months of the season on-loan at Whitehaven, has also been included in the French squad for their World Cup qualifiers.