Wakefield Trinity have signed hooker Mason Teague on a two-year contract ahead of the 2027 Super League season, the club announced on July 27 (Wakefield Trinity).

The 23-year-old joins from Burleigh Bears, a Queensland Cup side — the second tier of Australian rugby league, one rung below the NRL (BBC Sport). Teague is Australian-born and represents the Cook Islands at international level (BBC Sport; Love Rugby League).

Teague replaces Tyson Smoothy in Wakefield's hooker rotation. Smoothy is heading back to Australia to join the Perth Bears, the NRL's newest franchise, for their inaugural season (BBC Sport).

The signing is Wakefield's fourth recruitment for 2027. Teague joins Cameron Smith, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Emre Guler in arriving at the club ahead of next season (BBC Sport). That quartet brings a blend of NRL pedigree and international experience — Tuivasa-Sheck is a New Zealand rugby league international who crossed to rugby union before returning to league, while Guler has represented Turkey at international level and spent time in the NRL with Canberra and Manly.

The recruitment drive comes with Wakefield sitting second in Super League, seven rounds from the end of the regular season (BBC Sport). A club that has spent recent years fighting to re-establish itself in the top flight after relegation and promotion battles is now building from a position of strength, with a league title challenge still live this year and a squad overhaul already mapped out for next.

For Teague, the move represents a first crack at Super League. The hooker role — the player who operates from dummy-half, feeding the ball into the scrum and acting as the link between forwards and backs at the play-the-ball — is one of the most demanding in rugby league, requiring both defensive steel and a quick passing game. Wakefield are betting that a 23-year-old with international experience and a grounding in the Queensland system can make the step up.