BY a strange coincidence all three of our quota players have all figured in the same team before. Brock McDonald, Fred Sapatu and Duncan Smith were all in the same Western

Australia representative side. We haven't gone out of our way to bring them together. It's a fluke ..they've all come from a different angle.

SAPATU, 27 and recently married, arrives next Monday. He was looking for a club in the UK and faxed details and references. Darryl van der Veldt at Warrington was very interesting in taking him but he needed a half-back. He was supportive of his ability.

He's certainly good enough for Superleague; runs his weight, is very explosive and accelerates into contact and has excellent handling ability. So that was a good recommendation.

Fred, who has also had some interest from Manley, is a traveller. He went from Samoa to New Zealand and attracted the attention of Perth Raiders but he had three seasons out in local Perth leagues - equivalent to our first and second divisions - when Australian clubs refused to pay transfer fees to the New Zealanders.

In each of these three seasons he won the Player of the Year award. Last year with Perth he played reserve and senior grade - mostly from the bench. A Samoan international in 95, he missed the World Cup a year later but was selected by the Australian Superleague for their Pacific Islands development squad.

How can we afford the guy? Well thanks to the sponsorship of local businesses to whom we are grateful.

DUNCAN Smith only got eight minutes on Sunday and only four direct involments against Wakefield. But he's a good player and Wigan coach John Monie rates his defensive qualities. He hits strongly, is very, very strong defensively and is a very intelligent footballer. With the ball in his hand he is going to be an effective player.

And it's good that Superleague coaches can give you the time of day to recommend players.

JASON Lee is another who played from the bench on Sunday. We are fortunate we secured a player with flair, pace, evasive technique, who is a proven try-scorer and who offers a big work-rate.

For 30 minutes against Trinity we saw him playing in a slightly unaccustomed role as full-back. People saw his influence and were quite excited by him.

A Welshman, he married a Bradford girl and played with Dudley Hill before having two and a half seasons at Warrington. When rugby went open he returned to Pontypridd as a key player in their Welsh national league side - even for a while keeping Neil Jenkins out of his kicking role.

He's returned North and we're glad to give him an opportunity.

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