Former Kelston star to start for Tigers
Former Kelston Boys High School star Tuimoala Lolohea has officially left the Warriors and signed with Wests Tigers.
The 22-year-old, who fell out of favour with Warriors coach Stephen Kearney, had been seeking a release from the club for the past few weeks.
The Warriors allowed him to talk to other NRL teams and the Tigers along with the Raiders and Cowboys all put offers to the onetest Kiwi.
Lolohea was release on May 26.
He made the decision to join the Ivan Cleary-coached Tigers, agreeing to a 2-1/2 year deal.
He has waived the 10-day cooling period and will be ready to play for the joint venture in this weekend’s game against St George Illawarra.
Lolohea’s time at the Warriors came to an unfortunate end – and not one that anyone would have been expected when he signed a big contract with the club in June 2015.
He admitted the season hasn’t been easy for him.
‘‘Yeah it’s been pretty tough to be honest I have had a lot of support from people,’’ he said.
‘‘Probably kept a lot to myself, granted the I’ve actually been at the club [Warriors] since I was 14 and I’m 22 now.’’
He was held up as a future star of the Warriors, with x-factor and great attacking abilities.
It was always anticipated that he’d eventually move into the halves and partner Shaun Johnson, but that opportunity never really arose.
Kearney started the season with the intention of playing Lolohea on the wing, but he only got to play the first two games in that position.
Lolohea can play for the Wests Tigers as early as Saturday’s NRL clash against the Dragons after joining his new teammates for training on Monday.
The Tigers had named him at five-eighth.
Lolohea, who has played one test for New Zealand in 2015, is likely to partner Luke Brooks in the halves this season but widely tipped to be the club’s long-term solution at fullback in place of Sydney Roosters-bound James Tedesco.
Lolohea’s arrival at the Tigers is the latest in a flurry of recruitment hits for the once-besieged club, joining Josh Reynolds, Russell Packer, Ben Matulino and Chris McQueen on the books next year.