WOLVES head of coaching and rugby Tony Smith says new signing Brian Carney will be the perfect fit for his resurgent team.

The 32-year-old former Great Britain international this week agreed to join Warrington until the end of the season in a deal that raised a few eyebrows throughout Super League.

Carney’s pedigree is undoubted. Aside from scoring eight tries in 14 games for Great Britain, Carney is a dual-code international with Ireland and has played in both Super League and Australia’s NRL, as well as rugby union’s Magners League and Heineken Cup.

But the former Wigan man, who is eligible to face his old team in Wolves’ Challenge Cup semi final, has not played first-grade rugby league since swapping codes to join Munster in 2007 and barely played at all during the recent campaign, playing just once in a pre-season friendly for the 2008 Heineken Cup champions.

Smith believes Carney’s lack of action could actually work in Warrington’s favour though.

After meeting the player, he was impressed by his fitness and attitude and is confident Carney can make a significant contribution at The Halliwell Jones Stadium when he arrives at the end of June, once his contract with the Irish Rugby Union expires.

Smith said: “I found out there was some desire for Brian to get back into the game at the appropriate time, so I met up with him and he liked what we told him about the club and the direction we’re heading.

“He’s certainly attractive to us in what we think he can do in rugby league, the shape he’s in and what he can bring to the team.

“He has experience of playing at the highest level here, the highest level in Australia and the highest level in various sports in Ireland.

“He’s a great addition to our team and what he can do on the field is something I’m looking forward to because he still looks young, healthy and vibrant and has a real desire to do well again in rugby league. He fits our mix.

“I’m not worried that he hasn’t played much this season because it means he’s fresh, he’s ready to go and he’s not carrying any bumps or bruises like many of our players are that play week in, week out.

“There’s some things he’s going to be rusty at initially but once he’s in training with us, gets on top of those sorts of things and gets thrown in the mix, I’m sure he’ll be more than up to standard.”

Carney’s signing follows on from the arrival of Richie Mathers at the beginning of April but Smith says he does not expect there to be any more arrivals before the end of the season.

“Other new positions will be filled from within the club, young boys stepping up to play first grade and I’ll be more than happy if that crops up as well,” he said.