Brandon Wakeham will continue his rugby league career in Australia during 2024 after signing on with the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles.
The club, who work as the feeder club for the Manly Sea Eagles, play in the NSW Cup with Wakeham to be a key figure for the club in 2024.
At 24 years of age, Wakeham has spent his time in the NRL to date with first the Canterbury Bulldogs, and then the Wests Tigers during a single season stint in 2023.
Wakeham had played the first 25 games of his NRL career between 2019 and 2022 with the Bulldogs, and added a further 15 at the Tigers in 2023, taking the total to 40.
Wakeham has also played ten Test matches for Fiji.
With the Tigers going in a different direction, signing Jayden Sullivan from the Dragons, Aidan Sezer from the English Super League and Latu Fainu from Manly, it left no contract for Wakeham.
โWhen the opportunity came up to sign a quality half like Brandon, we didn't hesitate to grab him," Blacktown Workers general manager of football Todd Darvall said in a statement.
โBrandon has played 40 NRL games through stints at Canterbury and the Wests Tigers. He has also represented Fiji in 10 Test matches.
โHe will be a key asset in leading our Blacktown team around the field this season. His knowledge and leadership qualities will be invaluable."
Under a NSW Cup deal, Wakeham can be selected to play in the NRL from Round 11 if Manly run into issues with injuries. The club's starting halves in 2024 will be Daly Cherry-Evans and another ex-Tiger in Luke Brooks.
Wakeham will likely play for Manly during the pre-season challenge, before taking to the NSW Cup in Round 1 on Saturday, March 9 at 4 Pines Park against the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
