NRL side eyeing up Super League signings

Serious About Rugby League understands that NRL side St George Illawarra Dragons are putting work into scouting Super League talent with a view to making Super League signings for 2025.

The Dragons suffered their worst-ever season in 2023 with the club finishing in 16th place, one that would traditionally earn you the dreaded wooden spoon but the addition of The Dolphins saved them from that fate.

Instead, it was Wests Tigers who placed 17th but with the club having made some splash signings for 2024 and having already recruited Penrith Panthers star Jarome Luai for 2025, it means the Dragons are on notice.

The club have also been dealt a blow with one of their rising stars Junior Amone being suspended from the NRL for at least the 2024 season, with his future beyond this year uncertain, on account of his role in a hammer attack alongside his father.

With the club’s star player Ben Hunt turning 34 in March the Dragons are at risk of having a half-back crisis in 2025 which has prompted them to scour the northern hemisphere for possible Super League signings.

What Super League signings could the Dragons make?

Whilst half-backs seem to be the priority for the club, Serious About Rugby League also understands that they’re in the market for outside backs.

The halves they’re exploring aren’t explicitly English but among the talented English stars previously linked with an NRL move is St Helens’ man Lewis Dodd.

He made a strong impression on the NRL when he kicked the winning drop goal in last year’s World Club Challenge victory over Penrith Panthers.

Dodd has signed with one of the leading player agencies down under in SFX Sports Down Under which further fuelled speculation, and the Dragons were linked to Dodd by The Mole of Wide World of Sports in November.

Another Super League half-back that has attracted plenty of NRL attention is Leigh Leopards’ Lachlan Lam with the Papua New Guinea international earning Dream Team honours in 2023.

He has previously featured in the NRL but his spell in England has seemingly taken him to another level, certainly one that piqued the interest of NRL sides.

Lam’s coach and father, Adrian,  even confirmed that Lam would return down under “one day” when he spoke to Sky Sports after the Leopards’ play-off loss to Hull KR.

Head Coach Lam stated: “I’ve tried to make him enjoy his rugby a bit more as his coach and it is my job to make him improve. We know we have only got him for a short time so my role as father and coach is to make him get better to make that dream return to the NRL one day.”

Another player that the Dragons will be certain to enquire about would be Hull KR’s new signing Tyrone May given his brother’s recent admission.

May brothers intent on playing together

There have always been dominant rugby league families but rarely do brothers get to play alongside each other with the Burgess brothers at South Sydney Rabbitohs being one of the key exceptions.

One family who seem intent on uniting are the May family with Tyrone’s younger sibling Terrell speaking about his desire for the trio to play together on the Bloke In A Bar podcast.

Whilst Tyrone is contracted until the end of the 2025 season Terrell made it clear that both he and youngest brother Taylan are off contract at the end of the season, putting his allegiance towards whichever club made a play to sign all three brothers.

May explained: “My talks are with whoever wants to sign three of us brothers, that’s where I’m going to be at.

“Robbo (Roosters head coach Trent Robinson) knows that too, I haven’t hid that from him. Whichever club wants three brothers, that’s the club I’ll be at. We’re all off (contract) at the same time.

“That’s the preference, if a club can get all three of us then I’ll sign there in a heartbeat no matter what. I think everyone would if you had brothers and you could.

“If that doesn’t work out then my preference is to be at Roosters for the rest of my life or back home in Penrith.”

It’s worth noting that Terrell mistakenly claimed that Tyrone was off contract at the end of 2024, something that is false with the former Catalans half slated to stay at Craven Park until 2025.

Even so with the Dragons interested in both halves and outside backs a move for the May brothers could very well be in the equation.