The St George Illawarra Dragons have reportedly further added to their halves depth by landing the signing of Cronulla Sharks five-eighth Daniel Atkinson from the start of the 2026 season.
The Dragons have been chasing additional and replacement halves for some time, with that pursuit ramping up a level when Ben Hunt was released following the end of the 2024 season.
The club have since signed Lachlan Ilias as their new first-choice number seven, while Kyle Flanagan is expected to hold the number six jersey heading into 2025 after doing a better than expected job in his first season wearing red and white.
As it stood, youngster Lykhan King-Togia was the only other option to play in the halves at club and that will remain the case for 2025 before Atkinson joins the club at the end of his current deal.
The youngster, who debuted with the Dragons at the back-end of 2024, is yet to accept a contract extension beyond the end of 2025.
Atkinson will add to the club's spine now though, with the ability to play half back, five-eighth, fullback and in the outside backs.
News Corp are reporting that Atkinson has signed a three-year deal with the Dragons on a reported figure of around $500,000 per year.
Rival clubs were believed to be going after Atkinson, with the Dolphins among them, but they have been beaten out by the Dragons who have plenty of cash to throw around despite adding experienced trio Valentine Holmes, Clint Gutherson and Damien Cook on new deals ahead of 2025.
It's understood Cronulla will not entertain an early release prior to the end of 2025 under any circumstances for the utility who played plenty of games throughout 2024.
It's also believed the contract has only just been signed, and under NRL rules, the Sharks still have ten days to attempt to switch Atkinson's mind - it's understood they had an offer on the table for the 23-year-old, and so could still attempt to do so.
The Dragons are believed to have offered Atkinson the chance to be the first-choice starting five-eighth despite Flanagan and Ilias being at the club and having the 2025 campaign to cement their positions.
Atkinson made his NRL debut for the Melbourne Storm in 2021, before moving to the Sharks where he played another game in 2023, and then added another 19 to his tally throughout 2024.