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Super League young gun Riley Dean Australian move confirmed

He has played 43 professional rugby league games to date.

Published by
Ethan Lee Chalk

After reports emerged that the North Queensland Cowboys had signed Super League young gun Riley Dean, the youngster has since confirmed the move.

"From joining the club at 14, fast forward all the years. Huge thanks to (Warrington) for everything and everyone involved from staff to best mates for life. Been a pleasure, but onto the next challenge and adventure," Dean announced on social media.

The 22-year-old competes as a halfback and has shown several signs of promise despite his short career to date.

His career so far includes a combined 43 games for six different clubs in the English Super League and Championship since debuting in 2019 - five of the clubs were from loan spells.

Dean was also the maiden captain of the Under-16s Ireland team and competed for the Ireland national team in the World Cup qualifiers for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.

"We will wait and see how he goes - we have heard good things about him," Cowboys coach Todd Payten said via WWOS.

This confirmation of the news comes after Dean reportedly earned several admirers from a variety of clubs in Australia, with the Cowboys winning the race for his signature.

However, Dean will play for the Mackay Cutters, the Cowboys feed tram in the QLD Cup rather than join the NRL first-grade team. This will allow him to push for an NRL debut later this season.

His reported signature will follow the arrival of fellow countrymen Kai Pearce-PaulAlex YoungMorgan Smithies and Will Pryce as the next English player to play in Australia next season.

Published by
Ethan Lee Chalk