Former Eel Waqa Blake has finally settled his future after failing to secure a new contract in the NRL.
Meanwhille, after landing Jarome Luai for 2025, the Wests Tigers have turned their attention back to Justin Olam, with the aim of signing the powerhouse centre immediately.
The Tigers’ recruitment moves don’t stop there with reports a Queensland Cup premiership-winner has joined the club.
Elsewhere, the Panthers are at risk of losing two more players, however the reigning premiers have picked up a former Storm prop.
Read on for the latest NRL Transfer Whispers.
Waqa Blake is off to the Super League after the Eels opted not to re-sign him.
That is according to League Scene, who report the 29-year-old has signed with English Super League powerhouse St Helens.
Blake has played 165 NRL games over the last seven seasons. He made his debut for the Panthers in 2015 before a mid-season switch to the Eels in 2019.
The five-time Fiji international played on the wing in Parramatta’s 2022 Grand Final appearance but fell out of favour last season, managing just seven games in first grade.
Blake’s preference was to remain in the NRL but after not being able to land a new contract he has agreed to terms with St Helens.
It comes after it was reported in October that Blake was considering a switch to rugby union and even spoke with the Western Force about a potential opportunity.
Q CUP GUN MAKES MOVE TO SYDNEY
Solomona Faataape has been rewarded for his impressive 2023 season with an NRL opportunity.
That is according to Zero Tackle, who reports Faataape has signed with the Wests Tigers.
The 23-year-old won the Queensland Cup premiership last season with Brisbane Tigers — a Melbourne Storm feeder side. He scored 16 tries, set up 10 and got 14 linebreaks in 21 games while averaging four tackle busts and 155 running metres per game.
Faataape, a powerful centre, was also named Players’ Player for 2023 at the Brisbane Tigers’ end of season awards night.
It’s Faataape’s second full-time NRL pre-season having spent last summer with the Storm’s top squad.
The Tigers confirmed Faataape’s one-year supplementary contract on Monday afternoon.
PANTHERS JUNIOR RETURNS TO FOOT OF THE MOUNTAINS
Jordan Grant has returned home to Penrith after three years in the Melbourne Storm system.
The Western Weekender’s Peter Lang reports Grant has signed a train-and-trial contract with the Panthers with his eye on one of the two Top 30 spots available for 2024.
Grant St Clair Comets junior but had stints with the Eels and Tigers in the lower grades.
The 29-year-old made the move to the Queensland Cup in 2018 to play for the Mackay Cutters before joining the Dolphins the following year.
He signed with Storm feeder club Brisbane Tigers ahead of the 2021 season and made his NRL debut for Melbourne later that year.
Grant, who was on a Top 30 contract last season, has played seven NRL games — including two in 2023 — and was a key member of the Brisbane Tigers’ drought-breaking Queensland Cup premiership-winning side in 2023.
The Wests Tigers are set to announce another big signing in the coming days, with Storm centre Justin Olam reportedly agreeing on a deal with the reigning wooden spooners.
The Tigers got their main off-season target in Jarome Luai on a five-year deal from 2025, and according to The Daily Telegraph, Olam will also be heading to Concord.
It is being reported that Olam only needs to pass a fitness test in the coming days and he’ll be a Tiger immediately, with the Storm willing to accommodate the PNG international’s move and release him from his contract three years early.
Having fallen out of favour at the Storm, Olam has been linked with the Tigers for quite some time now.
The other name that has been in the discussions of a Olam-to-Tigers swap is emerging forward Shawn Blore, who last month reportedly agreed to a deal with the Storm from 2025.
It is expected that the Tigers will allow Blore to head to the Storm immediately in what will essentially be a straight swap for Olam.
The Tigers move gives Olam a chance for a fresh start at another club, given he was in and out of the Storm side last season and spent time in the Queensland Cup.
At his best, the 30-year-old Olam would add plenty of punch to a Tigers backline in dire need of some spark in attack.
PANTHERS’ SALARY CAP SQUEEZE AS TWO FORWARDS FACE CALL ON FUTURE
The Panthers could again soon be facing the salary cap squeeze, with two back rowers weighing up their future at the club.
With Jarome Luai leaving the Panthers at the end of next season to take up a $6 million offer from the Tigers, another grand final hero in Luke Garner could also be lost to a rival club.
The WWOS are reporting that Garner is receiving interest from NRL clubs as well as Super League teams.
