An outrageous 13 of Super League’s best signings ahead of this season: Macdonald, Tanginoa, Thompson…

We’re nearing the end of the Super League season, and by now, we’ve got a good idea of which players have consistently caught the eye as a top performer.

Notably, plenty of those recruited by clubs ahead of the 2024 campaign have shone with their new clubs, and some could well be in the running for the Dream Team come the end of the year.

But we thought we’d piece a Dream XIII together solely made up of those signings…

So, without further ado, here goes…

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1. Niall Evalds (Hull KR)

Kicking off our team, Evalds – who had been considering retiring before joining KR after an injury-plagued 2023 – has been an instant hit at Craven Park.

After joining from Castleford, life as a Robin initially began out on the wing, but he moved to full-back in Round 5 and has had a big hand in getting Willie Peters’ side into a position where they can genuinely challenge for silverware. Evalds has eight tries and 17 assists to his name so far this season in Super League.

2. Innes Senior (Castleford Tigers)

Ireland international flier Senior is technically still a loanee at Cas – from Huddersfield – until the end of this year, but the fact that they’ve already snapped him up long-term on a permanent deal starting in 2025 tells you all you need to know about how he’s fared at The Jungle.

Scoring 16 tries in 22 appearances across all competitions, he’s still an ever-present for Craig Lingard’s side in 2024. Senior is also among the highest metre makers in Super League.

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3. Peta Hiku (Hull KR)

Hiku is another of KR’s pre-2024 recruits that has hit the ground running, and has played a big part in the success that the Robins have tasted so far this season.

Arriving from NRL outfit North Queensland Cowboys, the 31-year-old began the season at full-back – but moved into the centres in Round 5 and has been ridiculously good ever since. The 17-time Kiwi international has registered 12 tries in Super League alone already, as well as picking up five assists.

4. Nene Macdonald (Salford Red Devils)

If we had to pick one standout signing, we’d probably lean towards Macdonald, who has been absolutely sensational for Salford right the way through the year. The Papua New Guinea international was without a club after being released by Leeds towards the end of last year, and looked destined for a permanent return Down Under, but the Red Devils threw him a lifeline.

The big centre has repaid their faith no end, and will surely be very high up on the contender’s list when it comes to Salford’s own Player of the Year award. Nine tries and three assists don’t paint the full picture – he makes metres for fun and simply causes havoc for defenders. Beast.

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5. Adam Swift (Huddersfield Giants)

Joining Huddersfield from Hull FC, Swift enjoyed a fine start to life as a Giant – he made metres and scored tries for fun, crossing the whitewash 17 times in his first 13 appearances for the club across all competitions. Included in those 17 tries were seven in two games against his former employers – in the Challenge Cup and Super League!

The winger’s season though was cut short through injury, requiring adductor surgery. If his impact on Huddersfield wasn’t already evident, the way they’ve dropped off since he’s been sidelined says it all.

6. Matt Moylan (Leigh Leopards)

Moylan arrived at Leigh from NRL outfit Cronulla Sharks as – arguably – the Leopards’ biggest signing ever, and certainly the biggest ahead of this season. The Australian ace has actually just about played more games at full-back (11) than he has in the halves (9) so far this season due to injury, but wherever he’s slotted in, he’s had a great impact on Adrian Lam’s side.

People will point to a disappointing display against Wigan on Tuesday night, but he stuck his hand up to play badly injured there – more a mark of the man himself than anything else. A really, really high quality player.

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7. Brodie Croft (Leeds Rhinos)

In a pretty drab season for Leeds, Croft – as you might have expected him to be – has been the one really bright spark. Arriving from Salford alongside Andy Ackers as part of a bumper deal, there was pressure on his shoulders, but the playmaker has delivered in abundance.

Featuring in all bar one Super League game so far this season for the Rhinos, he’s grabbed 19 assists and scored six tries of his own – including a pretty memorable one from miles out against Leigh as the club marked the sad passing of the legend that was Rob Burrow.

8. Herman Ese’ese (Hull FC)

It’s a similar story where Ese’ese and Hull are confirmed. The Samoa international powerhouse has been the standout star in a poor team at the MKM Stadium this year having arrived in the off-season from the Dolphins over in the NRL.

Making 17 league appearances for the Black and Whites so far, Ese’ese has accumulated 458 tackles – an average of almost 27 per game. But perhaps more impressive is his impact in attack – no one across the competition has made more offloads than his 43 at this point in the campaign, and a return of over 110 metres per game on average is equally impressive for someone with his frame.

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9. Daryl Clark (St Helens)

Saints recruited Clark from Warrington to fill the void left by James Roby’s retirement. Nobody was ever going to do that, but Clark has given it a very good go!

His 94 runs from dummy half is the second-best figure of anyone in the competition, and Clark has missed two Super League games. The hooker constantly looks to spark something with the ball in hand, and shows no signs of slowing down with his 32nd birthday coming up in February.

10. Luke Thompson (Wigan Warriors)

Thompson is right up there where ‘signing of the season’ is concerned, because everybody knew what he was capable of when Wigan brought him back over from the NRL and Canterbury Bulldogs, but he’s exceeded even those expectations.

The Billinge-born powerhouse has played some absolutely ridiculous minutes, pushing his body to the absolute limit for Matt Peet’s side. Again, where there ‘Player of the Year’ award is concerned, we’d imagine he’ll be getting some votes from his team-mates. A rock in defence and sterling in attack.

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11. Elie El-Zakhem (Castleford Tigers)

Lebanon international El-Zakhem has been great to watch for Cas in his first year at The Jungle. Arriving from Sydney Roosters, the 26-year-old hadn’t made a senior appearance Down Under, so he was somewhat of an unknown quantity.

But ask any Tigers fan now, and they’ll tell you how impressed they’ve been with him. Making almost 100 metres per game on average, El-Zakhem has made 37 offloads and is averaging close to 33 tackles per game, too. Those are just the tip of the iceberg where his stats are confirmed – a real astute pick up.

12. Kelepi Tanginoa (Hull KR)

We round our Dream XIII off with two KR forwards, and the first of those is Tanginoa – who has been incredible for the Robins since making the move from Wakefield Trinity following their relegation from Super League.

Yet to miss a game for Peters’ side, the back-rower delivers a minimum 7/10 showing every single week – Mr Consistent. He does exactly what his team need him to do in standing strong in defence and helping them up the field in attack with unbelievably powerful carries. A warrior if there ever is one.

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13. Jai Whitbread (Hull KR)

Team-mate Whitbread also joined KR from Wakefield ahead of this season, and before you all shout at your screens, we know he isn’t really a 13. He has played here at times this season though, and we’d utilise him as an additional prop really if this was an actual team taking to the field.

Having missed just one league game so far this season, the Australian’s tackle count is above 500 and his count of marker tackles is nearing the century mark. Whitbread is incredibly difficult to stop when he gets going with the ball in hand, too, an absolute wrecking ball.

The Robins’ off-season recruits have been a huge success on the whole, and we could have included others in this team too without any qualms. Four is enough, for now, though!