Albury Thunder signs Crete Waaka and Clayton Couley in rugby league

Clayton Couley played front-row or lock at Dubbo Macquarie last season.

"If you need him to go bash it up the middle 400 times he will do it until he has nothing left in the tank," Macquarie secretary Sue Egan praised.

"If you ask him to do something, he will just go and do it."

At 100kgs and 185cms, Couley isn't a big prop, but that workrate is his greatest asset.

"My game's based on repetition, I'll keep coming at them all day long," he suggested.

The 23-year-old played alongside fellow recruit Crete Waaka at Nyngan in 2017.

At 187cms and 110kgs, the 29-year-old would be a strongly built forward in Group Nine, so the fact he plays either in the centres or fullback means he will be one of the biggest backs.

"I like to be vocal on the field with my talk and rely on brute strength a lot, I don't have the fast feet that I used to," he offered.

Waaka impressed as a junior, playing with Cronulla's under 20s in 2013, where current Australian superstar Valentine Holmes was a team-mate.

"(Coach) Justin (Carney) told me about the direction the club wanted to go and I wanted to be a part of it, I want to enjoy the last few years of my rugby league," he explained.

The Thunder is rapidly developing a Central West feel with Carney, Couley and earlier recruit Lachy Munro.

The latter represented the Western Rams against France, while Carney played 37 games in the NRL with Canberra and the Roosters.

The Peter McDonald Premiership was formed last year by the merging of the powerful Group 10 and 11 competitions.

"You get tested to your limits up there, that's for sure," Couley said.

The Thunder had also signed Werribee-born, but New Zealand-raised playmaker Carlos Kemp, who can cover both the halves or hooker.

The Thunder is desperate to return to finals action in its new era under president Herb Stratton and Carney.

"There's a real buzz, we're all on same page, it's been a long time since we've had some glory days, but we're very excited, there's a lot of great feedback from the junior club, we can't wait to start," Stratton revealed.

IN OTHER NEWS:

The Thunder won the last of its three successive titles in 2014, with the club holding its first session under Carney on Monday night.

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