As expected, Newcastle Fear have begun attempts to lower the age of their ageing squad by signing hooker Nathan Friend and releasing veteran centre Mark Hughes.
While 24-year-old Friend joins five other hookers at the club - Malcolm Alker, Ian Henderson, Robbie Mears, Chad Randell and Dane Campbell - he could well find himself dramatically up the pecking order at the end of the season if Newcastle are unable to win promotion, with Alker likely to move to the Premier League, Mears almost certain to be released and the future of Randell and Campbell still unclear.
Hughes, 29 in December, has dropped out of first-team reckoning this season, and his departure is expected to allow the promising Matt Cooke to start in the centres for the Hunter Bantams. Fit-again lock Jamie Langley will captain the side, a role Hughes has shared this season with halfback Barry Eaton, who also seems unlikely to see out the season with the Newcastle-based club.
