The Parramatta Eels have announced the re-signing of a key member of their forward pack as their rebuild under Jason Ryles begins.
Announcing the re-signings of Brendan Hands and Sean Russell last week, the Eels have now confirmed that Kelma Tuilagi has signed a contract extension with the club until the end of the 2026 NRL season.
Moving to the Eels ahead of this year with Morgan Harper from the Manly Sea Eagles, Tuilagi has been an integral member of the club's forward pack and will be looking to cement a spot in the team under Jason Ryles for next season.
The 25-year-old also had a two-season stint with the Wests Tigers and made four appearances for the Samoan national team with all of them coming during the 2022 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC).
In 16 matches this season, he scored three tries, made four line-breaks and 283 tackles and averaged 91 running metres per match - finishing with 1471 total running metres.
โKelma is the kind of player we want in our squadโtough, competitive, and can break a tackle," Eels GM of Football Mark O'Neill said in a statement.
"He looks at home at the Eels and we're excited to have him on board for at least another year.โ
