Whitehaven born Gregg McNally is heading home – after signing a one-year deal to return to the Recreation Ground.

Whitehaven RL has snapped up the talented playmaker after McNally left Leigh Centurions and he will now turn his attention to aiding Haven's cause in the 2021 Betfred Championship season.

Chairman, Tom Todd, believes that McNally is the final piece of the jigsaw for Haven.

He said: “This is one of the biggest signings the club has made in a long, long time.

"We saw earlier this year that we lacked experience at times and Gregg has that experience in abundance.

"I think with the talent from Australia that we are bringing in, together with the other talent in the club, Gregg could be the key man to keep us in the Championship.

"Welcome back to your home club Gregg and I’m sure all the fans just can’t wait to see us in action again. I would like to say thank you to Mark Stamper and his team for bringing this important signing to the club."

McNally, 29, started his professional career with Whitehaven. He made a sensational debut back in May 2008 at home to Salford when he scored a hat trick of tries in a 26-22 win.

After scoring eight tries in nine appearances in 2008 he was snapped up by Super League outfit, Huddersfield Giants.

He returned to Haven for a couple of loan spells in 2009 and 2010 before joining Leigh in 2012. He was at Bradford Bulls for the 2018 season before returning to the Centurions in 2019.

Earlier this year he smashed the 1000 points mark for his professional career. McNally has also made twelve appearances for Ireland on the international scene playing at full back and half back as well as making ten appearances in Super League for Huddersfield and Leigh Centurions.

McNally is looking forward to the challenge ahead. He said: “I’m very excited to be back and pulling on the chocolate, blue and gold. I’ve been lucky to experience it once before and can’t wait to get back into it. Hopefully I can do well for the club.”

Haven coach, Gary Charlton, is excited to have McNally aboard. He added: “We are really excited to have Gregg on board. He is a current Ireland international and has played Championship rugby for a lot of years at Leigh.

"He is a proven try scorer whichever position he plays and also offers us utility value as he can play numerous positions.”

Tom Todd also praised the Vice Presidents group for their assistance in the signing. He said: “Once again thanks to the Vice Presidents who have been so generous and provided the financial support as they have done with lots of players, not just this one.

"They contribute money on a regular basis, twelve months out of twelve months. They are a great organisation if you haven’t joined get onto the club, get in touch with Des or any of the Directors.”