Wests lead the way with major signings ahead of 2023 NRL season
The lead-up to the 2023 NRL season has been full of entertainment – not only for the new Pre-season Challenge competition won by the Manly Sea Eagles, but for the number of off-season signings and player moves for this year and beyond.
The last week has been increasingly busy for clubs both on and off the field as they continue to build their playing and coaching ranks.
The Cronulla Sharks announced they have re-signed head coach Craig Fitzgibbon on a long-term deal, until the end of the 2027 season. Fitzgibbon has been an enormous influence at the club, recruiting players such as Nicho Hynes and Dale Finucane while turning the club back into a premiership threat.
Likewise, the Brisbane Broncos have announced Kevin Walters will remain the head coach of his beloved club until the end of the 2025 season. Despite their late-season collapse in 2022, Walters has also been the catalyst for steep improvements made on the field by the Broncos and big recruitments for the club off the field.
On the field for the Broncos, up-and-coming hooker Cory Paix has signed on at the club for a further two years. Providing speed and an attacking spark in the hooking role for the Broncos, coach Walters has described Paix as a “key member” of the squad moving forward.
In massive news for the North Queensland Cowboys, they have re-signed local product of the Cairns Kangaroos, Jeremiah Nanai, to a four-year extension to keep him at the club until the end of 2027. Nanai had a breakout season for the Cowboys in 2022 and played a key role in Queensland’s State of Origin series win, as well as earning Kangaroos representative honours at the Rugby League World Cup.
The Wests Tigers had one of the great off-season recruitment drives in the lead-up to the 2023 NRL season, signing John Bateman, Api Koroisau and Isaiah Papali’i. The Tigers have also re-signed five-eighth Adam Doueihi until the end of 2024.
However, Wests did not manage lure Mitchell Moses back to Leichhardt. Instead, the superstar halfback has ended months of speculation by re-signing with the Parramatta Eels on an enormous four-year deal worth roughly $1.1 million per season.
Fairfax Media is reporting that English import Dom Young has signed with the Sydney Roosters for 2024. If that is the case, Young will join a superstar backline that features James Tedesco, Joseph Manu, Joseph Suaalii and Daniel Tupou.
