Kaide Ellis has been described as the big body the St George Illawarra Dragons need after he joined the club for the rest of the 2020 NRL season.
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Ellis' move was confirmed on Monday morning after he had been granted an early release from his deal at the Penrith Panthers.
The Dubbo junior played eight NRL games with the Panthers and now has a huge chance to add to that tally at the undermanned Dragons.
His arrival is a boost for the club after it lost British great James Graham last month.
He joins the Red V after a consistent career in the lower grades at Penrith while being on the fringes of NRL selection almost every week in the past three years.
"Kaide is a very formidable figure and has been a standout in the Canterbury Cup over the past few seasons, and all the while has always being on the periphery of first grade selection," the Dragons' director of rugby league pathways and list management Ian Millward said.
"Kaide comes with high credentials in regard to his attitude and work ethic and will be a good inclusion to our squad character-wise.
"Kaide was off contract with the Panthers and we have now presented him an opportunity to put a stake down at the Dragons moving forward. The key for the Dragons was to find a back-up behind our current squad."
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Ellis was with the Panthers' squad to watch Saturday's emphatic win over Cronulla and is expected to arrive at Dragons' training this week.
And while Ellis was not an NRL regular at the Panthers, it's clear his presence will be missed at the foot of the mountains.
While Forbes junior Charlie Staines stole the show for the Panthers on Saturday afternoon, scoring a stunning four tries on debut, a number of the Penrith players paid tribute to Ellis on social media post-game.
"Kaide was presented with the opportunity to immediately secure a regular NRL role at another club and we believe he has earned the right to pursue that opportunity," Panthers general manager Matt Cameron said.
"Kaide has given the Panthers club great service over a number of years and we wish him the best of luck with his future endeavours."
Ellis, now 23, was a member of the Panthers NYC side which won the premiership in 2015 while he was the reserve grade captain for a time and won the state championship title with the club's NSW Cup outfit in 2017.
He made his NRL debut in 2018 and went on to play in the top grade a further seven times with the Panthers.
He now has a huge chance to add to that tally.
The Dragons are extremely light on forwards and coach Paul McGregor only had 24 players to choose from for a clash with the Roosters late last month.
The club lost hooker Isaac Luke to the Broncos while Jack de Belin remains stood down stood down under the NRL's no fault stand-down policy.
The Dragons downed Manly on Sunday and meet the battling Bulldogs next round.
Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
