After not being able to get a contract, former Eel Waqa Blake has now finalised his future.
Tigers grab up a promising talent as Benji continues his signing binge; ex-Eel resolves his future: Transfer Whispers
After failing to land a new NRL contract, former Eel Waqa Blake has finally made up his mind about his future.
Meanwhile, the Wests Tigers have returned their focus to Justin Olam in the hopes of signing the dominant centre right away after acquiring Jarome Luai for 2025.
There are rumours that a Queensland Cup premiership winner has joined the Tigers, proving that the team is actively recruiting.
The Panthers could lose two more players in other areas, but the defending champions have added a former Storm prop.
The Eels decided not to re-sign Waqa Blake, thus he’s off to the Super League.
The 29-year-old has reportedly signed with English Super League powerhouse St Helens, according to League Scene.
Over the past seven NRL seasons, Blake has participated in 165 games. Prior to joining the Eels in the middle of the 2019 season, he made his Panthers debut in 2015.
The five-time Fiji international, who only managed seven first-grade games last season, was dropped from the starting lineup and played on the wing for Parramatta during their 2022 Grand Final run.
Although Blake would have preferred to stay in the NRL, he has agreed to terms with St Helens after failing to secure a new deal.
It follows reports from October that Blake was talking about switching to rugby union and had even had conversations about a possible opportunity with the Western Force.
QUAD CUP GUN GOES TO SYDNEY
An NRL opportunity has been granted to Solomona Faataape in recognition of his outstanding 2023 season.
Zero Tackle claims that Faataape has signed a contract with the Wests Tigers.
The 23-year-old’s Brisbane Tigers, a Melbourne Storm feeder team, won the Queensland Cup premiership the previous year. In 21 games he averaged four tackle busts, 155 running metres per game, and 16 tries, 10 assists, and 14 linebreaks.
The strong centre Faataape was also named the Brisbane Tigers’ 2023 Players’ Player during the end-of-season awards ceremony.
Faataape played with the Storm’s first team over the summer of last year, thus this is his second full-time NRL preseason.
On Monday afternoon, the Tigers announced that Faataape had signed a one-year supplemental contract.
JUNIOR PANTHERS RETURN TO THE MOUNTAIN FOOT
After spending three years in the Melbourne Storm system, Jordan Grant has returned to his hometown of Penrith.
Grant reportedly inked a train-and-trial deal with the Panthers with an eye on one of the two Top 30 places up for grabs in 2024, according to Peter Lang of The Western Weekender.
Grant was a junior for the St. Clair Comets, although he also played for the Eels and Tigers in lesser divisions.
Before joining the Dolphins the following year, the 29-year-old moved to the Queensland Cup in 2018 to play for the Mackay Cutters.
Prior to the 2021 season, he signed with the Brisbane Tigers, a Storm feeder club, and later that year, he made his NRL debut for Melbourne.
Grant, who was on a Top 30 contract the previous year, participated in two NRL games and seven NRL games overall. He was also a vital part of the Brisbane Tigers’ 2023 Queensland Cup premiership-winning team, which ended a drought.
MORE UPDATE
In the next few days, the Wests Tigers are expected to reveal the acquisition of a significant new player. Storm centre Justin Olam is said to have reached an agreement with the wooden spooners.
Jarome Luai, who signed a five-year contract with the Tigers in 2025, is their top off-season target. The Daily Telegraph reports that Olam will also be joining Concord.
The Storm are reportedly willing to accommodate Olam’s departure and release the PNG international from his contract three years early, with Olam simply needing to pass a fitness test in the coming days to become a Tiger immediately.
Olam has been connected to the Tigers for a while now after losing favour with the Storm.
The other player that has been mentioned in connection with an Olam to Tigers trade is rising forward Shawn Blore, who last month supposedly consented to a contract that would keep him with the Storm through 2025.
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