Penrith rising star Daine Laurie has committed to the Wests Tigers, agreeing to a deal that will see him join the club for the 2022 NRL season.
The 21-year old will arrive at the Tigers on a two-year deal, seeing him at the club until the end of the 2023 season.
Jimmy Roberts lands at @WestsTigers, now expect Daine Laurie to follow suit - but for 2022.๐ฏ๐ฏstill holding out hope heโll be there next year ...
— christian nicolussi (@mrchrisnico) November 19, 2020
Westsโ CEO Justin Pascoe expressed his excitement to see a player with upside like Laurieโs commit to the team.
โDaine is one of the best young fullbacks in the game and weโre very excited to see him take the next steps in his rugby league career with the Wests Tigers,โ he told the club website.
โHis commitment to the future of Wests Tigers highlights the strong squad and future that coach Michale Maguire is delivering for this club.โ
Laurie made his first-grade debut for the Panthers this year against the Canberra Raiders and went on to play a further two games in 2020.
Before his debut in the NRL, Laurie was named as Penrithโs player of the year in their under-20s team, scoring 23 tries across his two years there.
Disappointing, however, not surprising. Charlie Staines will end up in the fullback role.
It is disappointing.
He would make a good replacement player at Penrith. Can play several positions.
Youโd hope now that Burton will be retained at Penrith. To cover at 5/8th, or lock.
I know thereโs 2 good juniors coming through though. A fullback & another 5/8th. One ( the fullback), helped lead Patrician Brothers Blacktown to victory in the schoolboys competition. So all isnโt lost, as long as the club continues to produce good juniors.
Laurie will probably be back in a couple of seasons, the same as Robert Jennings & Eisenhuth.
Penrith should make Laurie play out next season at the club. No more of this soft touch crap $ early releases.
It also give the following generation of players another year to develop.