Four Super League sides that could sign former State of Origin forward

Jack de Belin has seemingly been told that he is surplus to requirements at St George Illawarra Dragons and now the forward has accepted that he will likely be heading to Super League to “cash in”, but which sides could make a move for him?

The 33-year-old has spent his entire career donning the Red Vee down under for the Dragons, racking up 215 appearances whilst also playing in each game of New South Wales’ successful 2018 Origin series. He has also been capped three times by Papua New Guinea.

de Belin is a loose forward by trade but can also play prop and with such a vast amount of experience he could be a savvy signing for a Super League team in need of an anchor at the back of their pack.

It was first reported last week that the Dragons wouldn’t be offering him a new contract and that drew Super League attention but he has spoken to NRL media this week about the realisation he has to consider Super League.

“That’s the thing I’ve got to weigh up as well now,” de Belin explained, discussing if Super League is where he will end his career.

“But at the same time, footy careers are a short thing and you’ve got to cash in and make the most of it while you can. It is a lot, it’s a massive move”.

So which Super League sides should be in the market for a man of de Belin’s talents?

Four Super League sides that should look to sign Jack de Belin

Leigh Leopards

Of course, whichever Super League side signs de Belin will need an available quota spot and Leigh Leopards look likely to have one after the departure of their own loose forward John Asiata. The club’s skipper has been confirmed to leave the Leigh Sports Village and head to Hull FC, making a move for de Belin somewhat obvious.

A PNG international, he has played alongside the likes of Lachlan Lam and Edwin Ipape for the national team which could mean he would be a perfect fit as an extension of the spine, with Leigh so often utilising their loose forward offensively.

Huddersfield Giants

It’s being widely reported that Huddersfield Giants are set to lose their own loose forward and captain, just like Leigh, with Luke Yates top of Warrington Wolves’ wish list for their 2025 recruitment.

Should Yates exit from the John Smiths Stadium then de Belin could be an obvious replacement as he fits a very similar profile, a tough-tackling leader who will help develop pack players such as Sam Hewitt, Harry Rushton, Oliver Wilson and Fenton Rogers, all of whom are aged 25 or under.

de Belin has racked up 320 tackles in his ten NRL games for the Dragons so far this season, that figure placing him among the top 25 in the NRL. Weirdly enough, it is the same number of tackles that Luke Yates has made in Super League in 2024 too.

Salford Red Devils

There have been murmurs that Ollie Partington could leave Salford with Sky Sports’ Jenna Brooks leading that talk back in March. Since then Catalans have extended Ben Garcia but that’s not to say that Partington couldn’t depart elsewhere.

Salford would be a team that might make plenty of sense based on the number of former teammates of de Belin’s currently at the club with both Tim Lafai and Nene Macdonald having played 63 and 47 games respectively alongside the loose forward.

With Salford’s only NRL recruit for 2024, David Nofoaluma, looking likely to be on his way out per Yorkshire Live, then there could be a quota spot emerging at the club and de Belin would make plenty of sense.

Warrington Wolves

The fourth and final team on the list would be Warrington Wolves and it would be on the provision that they don’t land Luke Yates. As referenced, de Belin offers a similar profile to Yates which would surely then appeal to those at the club.

Moreover, de Belin has played with a number of Wire’s stars in the past with Paul Vaughan being one of his teammates in that 2018 Blues’ Origin series win, whilst also totalling 47 games alongside the PNG man in the NRL.

Matt Dufty (37) has also played plenty of games with de Belin whilst the likes of Rodtick Tai have shared the international stage with him. Sam Burgess will be another big pulling factor for any NRL recruits, de Belin being no exception to this. Should Wire fail to land Yates, de Belin has to be on their radar.