Papua New Guinean representative Nene Macdonald will continue his career at an eighth club in 2024, joining the Salford Red Devils on a four-year deal.
MacDonald had joined the Leeds Rhinos prior to the start of the 2023 season but has now gained a release from the remainder of his playing contract to make the Super League switch.
It continues a merry-go-round of clubs throughout his career, with the 29-year-old debuting for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL back in 2014.
He played 11 games there before switching to the Gold Coast Titans in the middle of 2015 where he played another 34 games. He then made the move to the St George Illawarra Dragons for the best stint of his career, scoring 16 tries in 46 games throughout 2017 and 2018.
A season at the North Queensland Cowboys in 2019 brought with it just five NRL games before 2020 at the Cronulla Sharks saw even less action with only two games.
2021 saw him resigned to a train and trial deal and QLD Cup appearances for the Norths Devils before he finally made the switch to England where he linked up with then Championship outfit Leigh under Papua New Guinean head coach Adrian Lam.
A single season at Leigh where he struck for 27 tries in 27 games saw him earn his deal with Leeds, and now, he has signed with Salford where he could round out his career if he sticks to the length of a four-year deal.
Macdonald said the Salford style of football would "really suit him".
โFirstly, thank you to the coaching staff and everyone behind the scenes that helped me get this deal over the line," the winger and centre said in a club statement.
โIt is an exciting time for me to start a new chapter in my life, with a great team.
โI am excited to get out there for 2024 and the style of footy Salford play really suits me.
โIt's a great team that can push to play in finals and win some trophies.
โThanks to a good friend of mine, Krisnan Inu for putting in a good word and letting me know nothing but good things about the club.
โI am excited to get in front of the Salford fans, play some good footy and earn their respect!โ
Coach Paul Rowley labelled Macdonald a significant addition and revealed he had tried to sign the winger two years ago.
โNene is a very significant addition to our team and I am looking forward to seeing him entertain our fans in 2024,' the coach said.
โI wanted to sign Nene two years ago โ as he is very much my kind of athlete โ so to eventually land him is fantastic.
โMassive credit goes to Krisnan Inu for bringing this deal from start to finish to our table, materialising from the friendship and respect he has with Nene and his advisors."
Salford just missed the Super League finals this year, with Macdonald to link up with other ex-NRL players Ken Sio, Tim Lafai, Brodie Croft and King Vunyayawa as well as club captain Kallum Watkins who had a brief stint for the Gold Coast Titans in 2019 and 2020.
Macdonald could battle to be selected in the club's first team given the current wingers are Ken Sio and Joe Burgess, and centres are Watkins and Tim Lafai.
