Workington Town have snapped up prop forward Ryan Verlinden on a two-year deal.

The Australian joins Town after being released from his Featherstone Rovers contract earlier this month.

Verlinden made his Rovers debut in May against Catalans Dragons after joining from New South Wales Cup side Newtown Jets and was later loaned to Doncaster Rovers.

The 27-year-old made 14 appearance in 2015, scoring two tries.

“He’s a big unit and he’s got some ability about him,” Town head coach Phil Veivers said. “He played in the Championship this year and he knows what he’s coming in to.

“Now he just needs to get some more game time under his belt. He’s six foot five and 100-odd kilos so he’ll help give us some second-phase possession.”

Verlinden will now be a part of an already competitive group of front-row forwards but Veivers is confident that increased competition will bring the best out of his players. “We’ll probably find that there will be another one joining that group soon,” the Aussie continued.

“It’s one position you need competition in and you need aggressive forwards.

“We’ve got a couple of props that will miss the start of the season through their operations.

“It’s a 30-odd game season and that is a lot of playing time,” he added. “All the players need to be on a level playing field and they need to understand that.

“If they miss games it’s not because they are being dropped as a result of their form. It’s important that we don’t use players who are carrying knocks.”

Director Garry Mounsey said: “It’s another quality addition which will further improve our playing squad for next season. We are always on the look out for new players and I look forward to seeing him in a Workington Town shirt next season.”