Tom Tsang Strengthens the Bears

With the 2018 season underway, Tom Tsang, Head Coach, has been busy strengthening the Bears with a few new signings and some, not so new. Tom introduces his signings below:

James Mason

James has been trialling with us for about a month now and has impressed enough in training to earn a contract for the rest of the season. James was a member of last years Gloucestershire All Golds squad, making a couple of appearances - he is a second row or loose forward - positions we were light in after Owen Jones picked up a knee injury.

James also represented England in last year's Student World Cup in Australia alongside a number of our existing squad, so he has slotted straight in. As a forward he is on the small side so he needs to show us he can handle the physical side, but he has good energy with everything he does and I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do with this opportunity.

James commented "When Mark [Sloan] offered me the opportunity to train at the Bears I jumped at the chance. I know quite a few of the boys playing at the Bears and I have only heard positive things from them about the club. This was the deciding factor in me wanting to sign. I am looking forward to getting stuck in and gaining game time and developing as a player. I hope to make this season as successful for the club as I can and be an asset to the team and cement a spot in the starting team. Many thanks Tom and Mark and the management team for this opportunity."

Ben Gray

Ben, 22, is a Leicester lad and came through the Midlands Academy - the same cohort as Bears centre Jason Bass. At 18, he joined London Broncos for two seasons, where he was loaned out to London Skolars. Ben actually played against us a few times during this period and was always a consistent performer. Benny then went to play in Brisbane's A grade competition for the West Panthers where he established himself as a regular in the Panthers pack. Ben has since returned to the UK and is studying at University. He can play most of the forward positions, but we will be looking at him as another option at loose forward or prop. He is in great shape and will add a different dimension to our pack.

Ben commented "Tom spoke to me back in November and the conversation we had was really positive about the Bears future. Being from Leicester, the bears have been on my radar for a while so i thought being back in the UK long term, it would be a great opportunity. Also knowing a few players that I played with in the academy system helped make the decision [to sign] easier.

I'm forward to be back playing in England again. I went to Brisbane to fall back in love with game after my previous two years had been rocky and it did exactly that.

I want to help the club progress and be successful. I think its possible for us to finish in the top 10 and if we did it would be great as it would give confidence to players, staff and fans that Coventry has the ability to compete with the best in league 1."

Cameron Stewart

Cameron is a current member of the Midlands Academy and another Leicester born player in the squad which further boosts the Bear's commitment to developing and giving opportunities to local talent.

Cameron has only been playing League for a year, having converted from Union, but as a project player he is already showing great development.

Greg Mannion the boss of the Midlands hurricanes has taught Cameron some strong fundamentals and Cameron has good Rugby League instincts - he plays direct and has good footwork and ball-skills. I am really excited by the prospect of what Cameron could become - his potential is huge, he just needs to keep working hard and his chance will come.

Jamahl Hunte

Jamahl should be no stranger to anyone who has followed the Bears since we joined League 1 as he was part of our inaugural squad and has since racked up 30 tries in 46 appearances - a club record.

The winger has finally been able to put pen to paper after work commitments prevented him from joining us at the start of pre-season, however now he is back on board, we will be working with him to get his fitness up to where it needs to be to compete for a place in the game-day squad. We are now blessed with some exciting outside backs who will be pushing each other every week. With Jamma you know you have a potential game winner - he will no doubt take a few weeks to knock off any rust, but once he does, he will be a great option.

Jamma commented "I'm really happy to be signing with the Bears once more. I feel this club is really going places and progressing at a great pace, I'm also very grateful for how much support everyone at this club has shown me and I'm looking forward to hopefully repaying that faith on the field."

Player Sponsorship

These players and others are seeking player sponsorship to help fund their season in League 1. For £300 you or your business could sponsor a player and feature your name on the players profile page, in the match day programme, mentions on match days and other benefits agreed with the specific player. For more information see our sponsorship page on the website or contact alan.robinson@coventrybears.co.uk or debbie.watson@coventrybears.co.uk.

More New Signings