Former Super League man set for long-awaited NRL debut this weekend

Will Pryce will make his NRL debut this weekend, it has been confirmed.

Pryce has had to wait patiently for an opportunity since making the move from Huddersfield Giants to Newcastle Knights in the off-season, being largely restricted to New South Wales Cup rugby so far in 2024.

However, speculation began to rise that Pryce was in line for a debut after he was pulled from their NSW Cup side last weekend, hinting that Adam O’Brien was finally about to give him a run in the halves.

And that has proven to be true, with Pryce confirmed to be starting at stand-off alongside another ex-Super League man in the halves, Jackson Hastings.

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The Knights face Parramatta on Saturday – with the game kicking off at 8:30am UK time – and Pryce will make his debut in top-flight Australian rugby league.

Pryce will be joined in the team by another Englishman, Kai Pearce-Paul. He returns from injury to hand the Knights a boost.

It is a landmark moment for Pryce, who switched from Super League to the NRL in the off-season. There has been a growing clamour for him to feature, with Newcastle legend Andrew Johns a keen advocate of Pryce getting an opportunity.

With Newcastle’s attack struggling in recent weeks, O’Brien has now made a change in the halves, with his first-choice pairing of Jack Cogger – another ex-Huddersfield Giants man – and Hastings now broken up in favour of Pryce pairing with Hastings.

He will become the latest in a long line of Englishmen to play in senior NRL rugby.

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