York City Knights are pleased to confirm the signing of Australian forward Jesse Dee on a two-year deal, thanks to the support of Squad Builder.
27-year-old Dee has been with Newcastle Thunder this season after joining from Illawarra Cutters in the New South Wales Cup, making seventeen appearances for the latter during 2021.
While his preferred position is at second-row or loose-forward, Dee has had spells previously playing at centre and in the halves.
On signing Dee, Head Coach James Ford said: “Jesse is a very talented and tough rugby player. He has played middle, edge back-row and filled in at half-back. He runs intelligent lines and can find a pass which is something on occasions we’ve lacked.
“We’re all looking forward to building a strong relationship and helping him have a great 2023.”
Dee himself said: “With the Newcastle situation and going back to part time, Clint reached out and said the Knights were interested. I had a chat with him and then spoke to a few of the lads and yeah, it went from there.
“I spoke with him when York came up to play Newcastle recently and he gave me a call later that week, that was good.
“Fordy said the team are looking for a ball playing middle so that could probably fit me, but I can also play back row and some other positions. The plan will be to have a crack in pre-season and we’ll see where abouts I’ll fit in the team.
“It was a great chat with him, the ambition of where the club is at and where they want to go.”
Dee joins new signings Ukuma Ta’ai, Ata Hingano and Josh Daley in the squad for 2023 and Season Tickets are available now.
