RUGBY LEAGUE
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THE Wellington Cowboys' chances in 2015 have been dealt a blow with star five-eighth Lewis Stanley defecting to Group 10 side Blayney Bears.
Stanley was a key part of the Cowboys side which finished third in Group 11 last season but he will now be tasked with helping Blayney turn around the form which saw them claim the Group 10 wooden spoon the past two years.
A representative gun at the under-18s level, Stanley played for Western Rams and Country NSW at that level before signing with the Newcastle Knights.
He since returned to play a leading role at the Cowboys and with one of the best kicking games in Western Division Stanley will add some serious class to the Blayney halves in 2015.
"Everyone I've spoken too has huge rapts of Lewis," Blayney president Adam Hornby said.
"I met him for the first time on Sunday and he's a big boy, wouldn't look out of place at lock or in the backrow.
"But we've signed him as a five-eighth. It's up to the coaches though."
Blayney also announced the signing of versatile Cowra Magpies forward Will Ingram.
In other Group 11 player movement news the Forbes Magpies have followed the signing of halfback Tim Holman with two more key signings in the lead up to the 2015 season.
Newly appointed first grade captain-coach Zac Merritt and club president Greg Grogan recently met with new Magpies signing, Eremasi Seru, to welcome him to the player roster.
Masi is from Uda village in Macuata, on the northern side of Fiji. He lived in Lautoka, where he played for the Lautoka Warriors and the Fijian Police Union team, before relocating to Australia with his wife this year.
Merritt said the side will benefit from Masi's expertise in the second row. Merritt said the Fijian would add some size to the squad, and he is keen to work with Masi when the team starts pre-season training in December.
The club has also announced it has signed Cowra's hard-running back row KJ Wood.
Wood and Holman both helped take Cowra to the Group 10 grand final this year and Wood said he was excited to be following his friend to Forbes.
The 27-year-old Cowra back-rower spent time in Armidale, Cairns and Muswellbrook in his early 20s before returning to his home town last year.
"Timmy and I played a fair bit of junior rep footy together and he was part of the reason I decided to come back home this year," Wood said.