The Parramatta Eels have re-signed Maika Sivo, holding onto the Fijian flyer until the end of next season.
Suffering a ruptured ACL in Round 23 last season, Sivo is expected to make his return in the next two-to-four weeks.
It looked for a minute that the Eels might be willing to let Sivo go after a rough patch of form prior to his injury. With Haze Dunster performing well in the finals, Bailey Simonsson joining the team and Sean Russell developing, it seemed there wouldn't be a place for Sivo once he returned.
With the injuries the Eels' outside backs have suffered, Sivo will be a godsend once he returns.
“Maika is incredibly powerful, he can score tries from seemingly impossible positions, and we’re very happy he has extended his time with us," Eels football boss Mark O'Neill said of the announcement.
The winger took the rugby league world by storm in his first season, earning the Dally M Top Try Scorer Award with a whopping 22 tries in 25 games. In his 67-game career, Sivo has scored 54 tries; an average of 0.83 tries a game.
For reference, Jeremiah Nanai has scored seven tries in only nine games this season; an average of 0.8, which lands him with the 11th best try-scoring rate in the NRL.
Sivo isn't just a winger who can get the ball over the line. Over his career, he has averaged 131m per game. Bailey Simonsson and Hayze Perham, are currently averaging only 110m and 72m respectively.
If Maika Sivo can return to anything near his best, he will be a much-needed weapon on the Eels' edge. If he is near his best, having him for another year at an assumedly cheap price, is a massive win.
Eels fans will be hoping to chant his name at CommBank Stadium once again.