Preston Grasshoppers are delighted to confirm three new arrivals to the club, welcoming Sam Kyle-Clay, Josh Ree and Sam Freeman.

The three new men will be a big boost to Dan Orwin’s side and have been brought in in the hope of pushing the team further up the table.

Both Sam Kyle-Clay and Josh Ree join from Darlington Mowden Park, in National League One. Kyle-Clay plays as a prop and has so far made 90 appearances. Originally playing for Fylde in the 2021/22, season he moved to DMP the following season, spending two and half years there before joining Hoppers this January. Sam attended Myerscough College as a youngster and has representative honours for the England Deaf team.

Josh Ree will help to reinforce the backs and has played as full back and fly half during his career so far. Ree has so far played 53 times, and scored 10 tries, as well as taking on kicking duties for DMP. Ree had previously represented Leeds Tykes and Kirkby Lonsdale before joining DMP in 2023 and will be hoping to entertain fans at Lightfoot Green for the second half of this season.

These are seen as two big signings for Preston Grasshoppers, securing two starters from a National One side. There was intense competition from several teams to secure the services of these two talented players.

Finally, making the transition from Rugby League to Rugby Union is Sam Freeman, who joins from Whitehaven, after initially coming through the Widnes Vikings academy. This is an exciting signing for the club, after beating competition to secure him. Sam has been training with Hoppers for the last few weeks and looks incredibly sharp.

Head Coach Dan Orwin said, ”We are delighted to be able to announce the signings of three very talented new players. I’ve known Sam (Kyle-Clay) for many years, having coached him at Myerscough, and in his early days at Fylde. He is a huge talent and will add some firepower to our pack. Having trained with us, Josh is very game intelligent player with an excellent skill set. He will add some organisation, and some creativity, to the side. Sam (Freeman) is another exciting talent. His acceleration is excellent, as is his footwork. He a has a very rounded skill set, as we’ve come to expect from players rugby league background. All three are good people off the pitch too and are exactly the type of personalities that we want in our group.”