Four Super League clubs battling to sign NRL star

Leeds Rhinos, Wigan Warriors, Warrington Wolves and Hull KR have all made major signings for the 2024 Super League season already whilst the likes of Hull FC, Leigh Leopards and Huddersfield Giants have all been linked with major signings of their own.

Signings can make or break a Super League side. The wrong signing can set a project back two or three years but the right signing can propel a team to the next level.

Every Super League side is always gunning to reach that next level, to take that next step towards silverware especially in an era dominated by St Helens which has made finding the right signing even more pivotal.

Thus signings are key to success and Super League history can show us this especially when it comes to overseas players like Pat Richards at Wigan Warriors, Jamie Lyon at St Helens or Adam Cuthbertson at Leeds Rhinos.

Cuthbertson made his name with his amazing offload game but he wasn’t the first NRL signing Leeds made to catch the eye through his offload skill. The first was Ali Lauiti’iti and now his nephew could be headed to Super League.

Lauiti’iti was in many ways the final piece of the puzzle for Leeds in 2004 as they looked to end a 32 year wait for a title under Tony Smith.

Smith already had Leeds playing like world beaters but Lauiti’iti made the Rhinos unstoppable scoring and creating tries for fun helping Leeds equal the record for the least number of losses in a Super League season and becoming the first and only side to only lose two games in a Super League season longer than 22 games.

He would feature in the 2004 Grand Final, score five tries in one game against Wakefield Trinity in 2005 which is a record for a forward and he scored in the 2007 Grand Final win over St Helens.

He ended his Leeds career with exactly 200 appearances and five Grand Final wins before a stint at Wakefield Trinity and now his nephew Herman Ese’ese is set to follow in his footsteps and make the move to Super League himself in 2024 according to the notorious Mole of Wide World of Sports.

There are reportedly three or four Super League clubs interested in the forward who is likely to accept a long term Super League deal over staying in the NRL.