Blayney has signalled its intention to return to the Group 10 finals in 2020, securing a signature the club believes is the biggest the Bears have made since Kerry Hemsley in the 1990s.
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The maroon and whites have landed former NRL prop Siosaia Vave for next season, the 115 kilogram big-bopper playing last season in the Ron Massey Cup with St Mary's.
Vave, 34, has played 108 NRL games across four clubs, debuting with Cronulla in 2010 before stints at Melbourne, Manly and Parramatta.
Bears recruitment and retention chair Adam Hornby said adding size was crucial as Blayney's premier league side looks to bounce back from a winless 2019.
And he's confident Vave will add that, and then some.
For a small club like us to land someone with over 100 NRL games is huge, it's going back to the Kerry Hemsley and Geoff Blinkhorn days.
- Blayney Bears' recruitment and retention chair Adam Hornby
"He'll be our big halfback," Hornby laughed.
"He's got plenty of experience and size, which is something we've lacked. With the amount of good young players we have at the club we think Siosaia can help lead us around the park."
Vave was trotted out by the club at the Bears' presentation on Friday night and Hornby says the addition of an ex-NRL player will generate a bit of buzz around the town.
"He'll be there and the kids will be jumping out of their skin," Hornby said.
"For a small club like us to land someone with over 100 NRL games is huge, it's going back to the Kerry Hemsley and Geoff Blinkhorn days (in the 1990s).
"We want to be competitive and getting a guy like Siosaia is going to help there."
Hornby revealed the club was in discussions with a number of other players from across Group 10 too, and said was hopeful Vave's signature will generate a domino effect of sorts.
"They might look at what we've done and then come across," he added.
"It can only be positive."
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