NRL journeyman playmaker Will Smith has returned to his junior club, Western Suburbs, after a 10-year stint in the NRL and Super League.
Beginning with the Under-20s Newcastle Knights team, Smith appeared in 95 games from 2014 to 2023 after debuting with the Penrith Panthers.
Mainly known for his 54-game stint with the Parramatta Eels, the two-time Indigenous All-Stars representative most recently featured in four games for the Wests Tigers during the 2023 NRL season.
As Smith joins the Western Suburbs, he will join former Penrith Panthers halfback Luke Walsh in the halves to create a formidable pairing.
Walsh played just under 250 games across the NRL and Super League and is most known for his 107-game stint with the Panthers between 2009 and 2013.
Former Knights cult hero Nathan Ross will also line up for the Western Suburbs. Ross scored 23 tries in his 60 NRL games before being forced into medical retirement but has been playing local rugby league since 2021.
Western Suburbs are coached by Rick Stone, a former NRL coach who spent time in charge of the Knights between 2009 and 2011 and again in 2015 before having a three-year stint with the Huddersfield Giants.
He also more recently coached the Sydney Roosters NRLW team and the Burleigh Bears in the QLD Cup.
The competition will also see Blake Austin join in 2024, having recently signed for the Lakes Entrance Tigers.
The Western Suburbs will be hoping to dethrone the Maitland Pickers, who won the 2023 competition, defeating the South Newcastle Lions.
For those that don't understand the competition, the competition's teams also compete in the Presidents Cup and supply players to the Newcastle side, who compete in the Country Championships.