Rabbitohs re-sign young duo

Young Rabbitohs duo Dean Hawkins and Keaon Koloamatangi have re-signed with the club until end of the 2021 season.

Hawkis has enjoyed a strong campaign for the Rabbitoihs' Canterbury Cup team in 2019, while Koloamatangi has been one of the Canterbury Cup's top performers over the last two seasons.

Rabbitohs GM of Football Shane Richardson was pleased to see the exciting pair recommit to South Sydney.

“We’ve been really impressed with the performances and the efforts of both Dean and Keaon and we see them having a future with us here at the Rabbitohs,” Richardson told rabbioths.com.au.

“They have both come through the Souths Juniors representative system with Keaon going on to represent his State.

“Both players have shown they have a bright future and it’s wonderful to reward local juniors who show they have what it takes to make it in the top grade with NRL contracts.

“We’re very happy to know that they will remain in the red and green for years to come.”

Hawkins was excited to have his future sorted as he works towards cracking into the senior side soon.

“I’m really excited about the future here at Souths,” Hawkins said.

“It was one of my goals this year to earn a new contract and I concentrated on having a good pre-season which leads into the start of the season.

“I’ve been rewarded with the new contract and I’m looking forward to working with Wayne (Head Coach Wayne Bennett), JD (Assistant Coach Jason Demetriou) and Willie (Assistant Coach Willie Peters) to keep my progression moving forward.”

Koloamatangi was also thrilled to sign an extension as he aspires to make his NRL debut.

“I’m really happy to have re-signed with Souths. I’ve been here since I started playing footy so it’s a dream come true to play in the jersey,” Koloamatangi said.

“I want to keep working hard and work towards making my debut at this club.

“The club has stuck by me as I’ve been coming through and I want to repay the faith they’ve put in me by performing well for South Sydney.”