English Super League club the Warrington Wolves have confirmed two ex-NRL players among their end-of-season departures, with Thomas Mikaele and Peter Mata'utia finishing their stints.
For Mikaele, a middle forward who has bounced between various clubs in recent times, it'll bring to an end what has been less than a half-season at Warrington.
In what has been a wild 18 months for the 25-year-old, he left the Wests Tigers in the middle of 2022 for Warrington on a deal that was set to lock him into the club until the end of the 2024 season. That was cut short however when he joined the Gold Coast Titans at the end of March this year for a second crack in the NRL.
He played just a single game for the Titans though before returning to the Wolves in England in August following the exit of coach Daryl Powell.
But now it has been confirmed he will exit Warrington again, with the club confirming in a statement that he will return to Australia.
It's unclear at this stage whether any NRL club will chase his signature for 2024 and beyond, however, he brings with him the 66 games of experience he had in his first stint for the Tigers between 2019 and 2022.
Mata'utia, on the other hand, who played 76 NRL games for the St George Illawarra Dragons and Newcastle Knights between 2011 and 2017, has been in England since 2018 and with Warrington since 2022.
He played for the Leigh Centurions (4 games) and the Castleford Tigers (51) games before making the switch to the Wolves, but the club confirmed his time there has now come to an end.
The 32-year-old, who can play multiple positions, has been part of Warrington's leadership group during his time at the club, although it's unclear where he will find a new home if he elects to continue his rugby league career.
