MacDougall, who turns 34 in May and will be one of the NRL's oldest players, accepted the club's upgraded offer to end a contractual stalemate that had dragged on since before the end of last season.

Newcastle Knights strategic development manager Keith Onslow told The Herald last night that he had finalised a deal with MacDougall's manager, George Mimis.

"It's all good news for us. I know everybody on the coaching staff, all the players, will be excited and relieved," Newcastle coach Brian Smith said.

"Everybody's been hoping it was going to happen and it's great that we've eventually got it done."

Neither MacDougall nor Mimis returned calls from The Herald last night, but Onslow said Mimis had contacted him to say MacDougall was back on deck for two more seasons.

Not satisfied with the Knights' original proposal last year, MacDougall has been training on his own since his teammates began their pre-season conditioning program last November and has kept his distance since they resumed early last month.

Mimis applied pressure last week when he said MacDougall had other offers on the table.