York Knights are delighted to announce the signing of full-back Will Dagger from former Betfred Super League club Wakefield Trinity on a three-year deal, thanks to the support of Squadbuilder!
Dagger arrives at York with plenty of Betfred Super League experience to his name, having made 60 top-flight appearances during spells at Warrington Wolves, Hull KR and Wakefield.
The Pontefract-born man debuted in the Betfred Super League at the age of just 18 for Warrington in 2017, before moving to Hull KR the following year.
Dagger went on to make more than 50 appearances for the Robins, including a start in last year’s Betfred Challenge Cup Semi-Final against Huddersfield Giants.
The 24-year-old signed for Wakefield midway through last season, scoring two tries, 29 goals and one drop-goals in 17 matches for Trinity.
On joining York, Dagger said: "I'm very happy to have signed for the Knights! I've been given an insight into what the Club has got to offer and where's it's going while working with York Valkyrie this year.
"I'm really happy to be here and hopefully we can have a good season in 2024 and be up there pushing towards the top of the table.
"Speaking to Clint (Goodchild, Chairman) through role at the Valkyrie, he mentioned that he'd been keeping an eye on me and that him and Hendo liked the way I was playing.
"I spoke to them about how they saw the Club progressing and it really excited me."
Dagger added on his desire to nail down the full-back position: "My work has only just started now, joining a new team with new faces and new personnel.
"I need to make sure that I have a good pre-season and prove to Hendo that I'm worthy of that spot, because no shirt is ever given, you have to work hard for it and I'm willing to do that."
Head Coach Andrew Henderson said: “I’m very happy to bring Will to the Club as full-back was a position that we were looking to strengthen in terms of our quality and depth and bringing Will to the Club gives us that.
"He’s a tremendous full-back who is experienced at Super League level.
“He will bring a lot of quality attributes in terms of tempo of run, his skill out of the back, his positional play and his competitive edge, which is the main thing I admired in his game.
“For Will, this is a real opportunity for him to establish himself and he has a real opportunity to cement himself as the number one, if he performs to the levels that we know he can.
“Will is only 24-years-old, so we believe he has his best rugby league ahead of him. We’re really excited to see what he can bring now and where he can go to in the future.”
Dagger becomes the 12th confirmed squad member for the 2024 season alongside Jesse Dee, Ata Hingano, Conor Fitzsimmons, Jordan Thompson, James Cunningham, Ronan Michael, Jack Teanby, Ukuma Ta'ai, Pauli Pauli, Levi Edwards and Oli Field.
To watch Will Dagger's first full interview as a York Knights player and Head Coach Andrew Henderson's reaction to the signing, head to the York RLFC YouTube channel by clicking HERE.
