Former Cronulla Sharks NRL premiership winner Luke Lewis has revealed he believes James Segeyaro will push for a return to the NRL this season.
Segeyaro has spent two years suspended from the game after testing positive to a banned substance during 2019.
After successfully arguing he accidentally ingested the substance however, Segeyaro had his ban reduced to 20 months and was free to return to the game this year.
A heavy off-season of speculation followed linking him with the Manly Sea Eagles, and while the club never made anything official, Segeyaro has kicked off the season playing in NSW Cup for the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles.
While he only made it onto the field in Round 1 off the interchange bench, Segeyaro made plenty of impact in his 50 minutes, making four tackle busts, two offloads and 28 tackles.
While the Sea Eagles fell heavily to the Panthers and Segeyaro didn't play in Round 2, he is named to play this coming Monday evening against the Canterbury Bulldogs.
Lewis told The Daily Telegraph that the Sea Eagles don't have a lot of depth at hooker and that Segeyaro could find himself back in the NRL this year.
โMy little mate has come out there, heโs played a great game in his first game,โ Lewis told the publication.
โJames Segeyaro looked super dangerous out of dummy half, his running game created a couple of half breaks. I think heโs really staking his claim to get back up in that first grade squad.โ
โManly, they havenโt got a whole lot of depth there in that No.9 jersey, so if an injury was to come there, we could see him up in first grade,โ he said.
โKeep a close eye on James Segeyaro.โ
The Sea Eagles have made an abysmal start to their season at NRL level, falling to both the Penrith Panthers and Sydney Roosters in a couple of opening round blockbusters to be pinned to the bottom of the ladder.
Lachlan Croker, who has developed into the club's first-choice hooker despite formerly being a half, is only backed up by Karl Lawton in the top 30, with Segeyaro seemingly the club's next option.
The Sea Eagles will clash with the Bulldogs on Sunday evening to conclude Round 3 in the NRL.
