Panthers star apparently signs a new contract after confirming departure.

He’s thinking about his future right now.
The off-contract star Sunia Turuva of the Penrith Panthers has reportedly signed with the Wests Tigers.

The winger, who was named the 2023 Dally M rookie of the year and intends to play fullback for the rest of his career, has been in talks with the Panthers and other teams in recent weeks.

The Sydney Morning Herald has now reported that Turuva will be leaving the Panthers. On Thursday morning, the winger informed his teammates that he had chosen to sign a three-year contract worth roughly $1.3 million, or roughly $450,000 a season, with the Wests Tigers.
The St George Illawarra Dragons have reportedly made Turuva an offer that is the best financial one on the table. Turuva is already a top player for the Fijian national team, where he has played fullback.

It was agreed that the Red V would provide the young gun the chance to compete for the top jumper at the joint venture, which is presently held by Tyrell Sloan, and would outpace Penrith’s rumored $350,000 offer by at least $100,000 annually.

Naturally, Penrith was desperate to hold onto Turuva, who trails Dylan Edwards, a possible debutante for the New South Wales State of Origin, in terms of playing fullback for Ivan Cleary’s team.

Turuva has stated that he would prefer to stay a Panther, but he also wants to be able to support his family and possibly play as the team’s top jumper. It’s not clear, though, if the Tigers and head coach Benji Marshall would consider him challenging Jahream Bula, another talented young player, for the jersey.

However, Turuva, who now follows Jarome Luai from the foot of the mountains, is related to Apisai Koroisau, the captain of the Tigers.

After recently re-signing and upgrading a number of outside backs, including Taylan May and Izack Tago, as well as having a number of big-money agreements across their squad, Penrith was unable to increase its offer to the Fijian.

But Penrith has a lot of young players in their system, including Paul Alamoti, who has NRL experience, who will now be in position to wear Turuva’s shirt the next season.

While this is going on, the Tigers will continue to bolster their defensive line. Turuva will likely start in the back five with guys like Jahream Bula and Justin Olam, replacing Junior Tupou, who inked a contract with the Dolphins effective with the 2024 season.