LAZARUS Vaalepu, a Samoan international who has played 13 NRL games in three seasons at Melbourne, has signed with Leigh.
The Leopards and Storm each issued media releases on Tuesday confirming the news. Vaalepu will head to Leigh Sports Village immediately.
Vaalepu is a Canberra junior who moved to Sunshine Coast Falcons and Wynnum-Manly before linking with the Storm in 2023.
“He’s a player with genuine presence, power and punch, giving us a real point of difference within our middle unit,” said Leopards director of rugby Andrew Henderson.
“He’s humble, driven to succeed and genuinely believes he can grow his game under Adrian Lam in Super League.
“We’re looking forward to helping him take the next step in his career.
“He’s of good character and has been developed through a strong Melbourne system for a number of years, which will be a real benefit to us.
“I believe he’ll thrive in our environment and become a player our supporters really connect with.
“He wants to be part of something ambitious – and that’s exactly what we’re creating here at Leigh.”
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