THE Dragons have finally landed one of the big-name recruits coach Shane Flanagan has been after all summer with North Queensland Cowboys backrower Luciano Leilua set to link with the Red V effective immediately on a $2.7 million three-year deal.
While St George Illawarra initially baulked at Leilua’s asking price Flanagan has been busy behind-the-scenes and has convinced Dragons management to take on Leilua’s $900,000-a-season asking price.
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The Canberra Raiders were also in the picture having been interested in Leilua for the past 12 months but opted to withdraw out of negotiations at the 11th hour when it became clear the backrower was heading back to the club where he made his NRL debut.
One of the primary reasons for Leilua’s return to St George Illawarra was for family reasons to be closer to his father.
The Canberra Raiders were also in the picture having been interested in Leilua for the past 12 months but opted to withdraw out of negotiations at the 11th hour when it became clear the backrower was returning to the club where he made his NRL debut.
One of the primary reasons for Leilua’s return to St George Illawarra was for family reasons to be closer to his father.
It’s a win for the Dragons because North Queensland have already paid Leilua for four months of this calendar NRL season which means the Red V will only pay a tick over $500,000 for Leilua this season.
Leilua will fly from Townsville to Sydney later this week where he will undergo a full medical examination before the new deal is officially rubber-stamped.
Provided everything goes according to plan Leilua will then be a strong chance of making his debut for St George Illawarra against the Wests Tigers in the NRL’s pre-season challenge in Mudgee on Saturday night.
Dragons coach Flanagan has now done three decent deals over the course of this off-season in the form of Leilua, backrower Raymond Faitala-Mariner and winger Christian Tuipolotou.
Leilua, 27, is a Hurstville United Dragons local junior who debuted for the Red V in 2016 and played 43 NRL matches for the club before joining Wests Tigers at the end of 2019.
A destructive edge back-rower with late footwork and an off-load, Leilua will be stationed on the Dragons left edge alongside five-eighth Kyle Flanagan with Jadyn Su’A to shift to the right side and and be paired with captain Ben Hunt.
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