BIG Brett Waller has left York City Knights to return to Newcastle Thunder.

The man mountain prop - who similarly left York for Tyneside at the end of 2011 having first joined the professional ranks at Huntington Stadium in 2010 - follows Knights skipper Jack Aldous in making the switch.

Hull-based Waller, 29, played 21 times for the Knights this year after returning to the club from Doncaster, notching three tries.

In all, he has made 111 pro appearances, scoring 33 tries - including 12 in his last season in the North East.

He said of his move: “I’m really pleased to be coming back to Thunder.

"I’ve got a lot of respect for Keith (Newcastle managing director Keith Christie). When I was last there everything promised was delivered and, had I not gotten the opportunity to play at Doncaster, which was a division above and closer to home, I’d probably have been at Thunder all this time."

The Thunder finished a disappointing ninth in Kingstone Press League One this year - outside of the play-offs, despite having begun the season with promotion aspirations under Aussie Mick Mantelli, the former Canberra and Italy assistant-coach.

They did have the consolation of lifting the League One Shield at the end of the Super 8s, though, after beating North Wales Crusaders 31-26 in the final.

Said Waller: “The club has great facilities and the squad for next year is looking really good with the players that have been signed and retained and, after the club won the Shield last year, if it can carry on getting up the table and looking at a play-off spot it will be a good year.

“The majority of the squad has been retained and already has a bond and I’ve spoken to Mick about how he wants us to play next year, so with bonds already in place and then the likes of Jack (Aldous) and me coming in already knowing each other, I don’t see any reason why we can’t start off things flying.”

While Waller becomes Newcastle's 17th signing for 2017, the Knights are resigned to playing catch-up in recruitment, remaining partly in limbo as work continues behind the scenes to complete the takeover of the club.

Head coach James Ford has confirmed that two key men have agreed to stay - Player of the Year Ed Smith and veteran half-back Jonny Presley - while negotiations with various other players continue.

However, all player contracts can only be rubber-stamped if and when the takeover is concluded and the team are reinstated back into the League One fixture list.