Tame Tupou has been thrown a lifeline by Australian side Wests Tigers after being dismissed by the Bradford Bulls in January.
Bradford Bulls accept request for Tupou
Tame Tupou has been thrown a lifeline by Australian side Wests Tigers after being dismissed by the Bradford Bulls in January.
The 26-year-old New Zealand Kiwi international was shown the door at the Super League side due to long-running injury problems, but still had 18 months remaining on his contract.
After losing an RFL tribunal Tupou was forced to serve a six-month notice period in which he failed to secure a deal with another Super League club.
Originally brought in as a replacement to Lesley Vanikolo, Tupou had an exciting start with the Bulls scoring 10 tries in 12 games, but has not played since after being forced to undergo reconstructive knee surgery last year.
Success
Tupou cold also be joined by his old team-mate Sam Burgess who is attracting a lot of interest in Australia. Having already brought England star Gareth Ellis on board, it appears that the Tigers would welcome a fresh addition from Europe.
Wests Tigers coach, and current Australia boss,Tim Sheens told
Rugby League Week Magazine "We have had great success with Gareth this season and sometimes it is hard to get quality players away from their clubs in the NRL, so you have to look outside the square."
However, the Tigers will face stiff competition if they pursue Burgess, following interest from the Manly Sea Eagles who would also like to acquire the 20-year-old.
Manly's recruitment manager Noel Cleal said: "We have spoken to Sam and he has made no secret of the fact that he wants to come and play down here.
"He is a talented young player and probably the pick of the next generation of stars over there. He can play prop or second row and has plenty of size."
