The St George Illawarra Dragons have confirmed the departure of Hame Sele as they continue their major roster overhaul for the 2027 season and beyond.
Sele, a Kingsgrove junior was developed through the Dragons academy and went on to make his NRL debut for the club in 2017. He is now set to depart the club and potentially the NRL after his second stint at the club.
This season Sele has only managed to feature in 167 first grade minutes across 6 matches off the interchange bench after yet another injury-riddled campaign for the 29-year-old.
He has not featured in the first grade team list side since Round 7 earlier this year.
He is currently still sidelined with an injury to his achilles which will prevent him taking any part in a farewell game for the Red V when they take on the Parramatta Eels this Sunday in the final game of their 2026 campaign.
After leaving the Dragons, Sele enjoyed a short 5-game stint at the Penrith Panthers before making a name for himself at the South Sydney Rabbitohs where he was a feature in their 2021 grand final team.
The Tongan international then rejoined his junior club for the 2024 season, where he battled injuries and concussions keeping him sidelined for a majority of the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
After spending 10 seasons in the NRL and only managing 94 first grade appearances, the next chapter of his rugby league career is seemingly overseas.
There were reports in July from the Daily Telegraph that Sele had signed a three-year deal with Super League out, Castleford Tigers. However, there has been no offical confirmation from either club.
Sele joins Blake Lawrie as the second Dragons forward that has been announced to depart the club at seasons end.
This departure frees up more salary cap space for the Dragons to continue upgrading the contracts of their core young forward pack and further their host of new recruits joining them for 2027 and beyond.
