The Penrith Panthers have finally locked in the signing of Blaize Talagi on a three-year deal.
A breakout star for the Parramatta Eels this season, it was confirmed a handful of weeks ago that the fullback who can line up virtually anywhere in the back seven would leave the Parramatta Eels at the end of the season.
That followed months of speculation that he would exit the club, with a player option in his favoyur built into the contract for the 2025 campaign.
It was reported that Talagi would instead join the Panthers, and that has now proven to be the case, with the men at the foot of the mountains confirming his signature from the 2025 season through to the end of 2027.
In what is a big boost for the Panthers, Talagi could well find himself in the fight to replace Jarome Luai at five-eighth, with the club also having Jack Cole and Brad Schneider as potential options, as well as Daine Laurie.
Otherwise, Talagi is likely to be used in the outside backs where the Panthers have lost plenty of talent in recent times.
The Panthers refused to make any comments on Talagi's signature out of respect to Parramatta other than to confirm his signature, with the versatile youngster a former junior New South Wales player at both under-16 and under-18 level, while he has scored 11 tries in his 15 first grade games to date.
The 19-year-old will link up with the Panthers officially in November ahead of pre-season training.
