Oldham win race to sign Noone

Championship 1 side Oldham have won the race to sign former Warrington and Widnes back-rower Paul Noone.

Noone, 29, made 119 Super League appearances for the Wolves before switching to home-town club Widnes and then spending the last two seasons at Barrow.

He also had seven Super League games for Harlequins while on short-term loan to the London club from Warrington in 2006.
 
Said Roughyeds team boss Tony Benson: “Paul’s capture represents one of the last pieces of the jigsaw in our team building for 2011, but it was certainly well worth the wait.
 
“We wanted somebody to put more experience into our young squad and Paul is the ideal fit. He’s seen it all at the top level of club rugby. He is aggressive in defence and he runs good lines in attack.
 
“He’s also a good bloke to have around and that is always an important factor to us as a club when we are doing our recruiting.
 
“He will add a lot to our squad and give us a strong back-row with a lot of competition for places.”

Noone made 59 appearances for the Raiders in his two years at the club, helping them to win the Championship Grand Final in 2009.

He said: “I had two good years there, but that’s in the past and I’m looking forward to a new start at Oldham. I’m still only 29 with plenty left in the tank and my aim is to help Oldham to go one better this year and finally get promotion.
 
“I spoke to a few clubs but Chris Hamilton (club chairman) and Tony Benson convinced me that Oldham was the right club for me. To get to four Grand Finals in a row is no mean feat.
 
“They’ve got a good squad with good off-field backing. There is a lot of potential on and off the field and I like the idea of striving with all the other lads to put the club back where it belongs in the Championship.”