Rhys Hanbury, Frank Winterstein and Hep Cahill will be Crusaders regulars |
Crusaders rugby league bosses will meet UK Borders Agency officials on Thursday in a bid to gain visa clearance for the three players stranded in Australia.
Rhys Hanbury, Frank Winterstein and Hep Cahill remain in limbo as they await the official go-ahead to train and play for the Super League’s Welsh franchise.
Hanbury and Winterstein were Crusaders regulars last term while Cahill was a summer signing from Melbourne Storm.
“We’re meeting the Borders Agency this Thursday,” said coach Iestyn Harris.
“We’re hopeful of some good news soon with the three guys we have stuck in Australia.
“And hopefully they will be able to give us a time frame on when we can have them back here in Wrexham.”
Crusaders’ 42-18 defeat at Hull FC last Friday was their third successive defeat – following an opening day win over Salford City Reds – that leaves them joint bottom of the early Super League table.
Harris’ men currently have minus two points as the Racecourse Ground club were docked four points by the Rugby Football League at the start of the season for breaching insolvency rules.
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If we get bad news on Thursday and we’re not sure when those guys will be with us we will certainly have to bring some fresh bodies in Crusaders coach Iestyn Harris |
And the Crusaders could do with the boost of having three star players available as they look to build on last season’s play-off heroics.
“We’re edging closer to having our full compliment, which hopefully we will have by the end of the month,” said Harris.
“We will know more after Thursday.
“If we get bad news on Thursday and we’re not sure when those guys will be with us we will certainly have to bring some fresh bodies in.
“We’re expecting good news on Thursday so if we get that then we’ll have pretty much our full squad to choose from.
“They are three important players for us. Rhys and Frank were very big players for us last season.
“Rhys is a very versatile player who can play in a number of positions, and every squad needs someone like that.
“Frank is a strong runner and ball carrier. He is only young and he has the potential to be a big player for us and we are expecting big things from him over the next couple of years.
“Hep Cahill is a super athlete. He was very highly thought of in Australia and he has a very impressive work rate.
“Him and Frank are both back rowers, where we are a bit light at the moment so fingers crossed, it will be good news on Thursday.”
Crusaders will travel back to Hull this weekend to face Hull FC’s rivals Hull Kingston Rovers at Craven Park on Sunday.
