Australian outside back Jake Maizen has signed a new deal with the Widnes Vikings, confirming his future in the second tier of the English game.
The outside back who can play anywhere across the back five played for both the Central Queensland Capras and Sunshine Coast Falcons to start his career, and that was enough to land him a spot in the Italian side for the 2022 Rugby League World Cup where he played in all three games for the nation.
He switched to England in 2022, signing with the Halifax Panthers where he remained for two seasons, before jumping to Whitehaven in 2024.
Scoring 12 tries in 20 games, the 28-year-old has now caught the eye of the former Super League club at Widnes, and will join them on a one and a half year deal through to the end of 2026, joining the club effective immediately.
โI'm super excited to have signed until the end of 2026, I can't wait to get over there and hopefully add to what is a really strong squad," Maizen said in a statement confirming his signing.
โI'm hoping we can make a real push for the playoffs and carry that momentum into next year.
โI want to say a big thank you to Allan and the board for giving me the opportunity to represent such a proud club.โ
Widnes chased Maizen before the season, but couldn't get a deal done, and head coach Allan Coleman said it was 'brilliant' to have his signature now.
โIt's brilliant to get Jake on board, as I'm sure everyone is aware, we wanted to get him ahead of the start of the season, but couldn't get it over the line," Coleman said.
โThere has been a lot of hard work that has gone on behind the scenes to get this done, and I'm really excited to get such a talented player on board.
โHe's a player I really admire and he's a talented rugby player who has bags of pace, which is something we're desperate for.
โAs soon as he arrives in the country, he'll be straight into contention to get into the team, and I'm really looking forward to seeing the impact he can have.โ
