Forward departs Manly, joins new NRL team

He previously played in the NRL for the Wests Tigers.

New Zealand-born forward Austin Dias has left the Manly Sea Eagles and will join a new NRL team in the process.

Struggling to break through into Manly’s first-grade team, Dias spent the past few seasons in the NSW Cup with the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles – Manly’s feeder club.

Now he has linked up with the Penrith Panthers, after he made his NSW Cup debut for the club on the weekend against the Newcastle Knights.

A former Parramatta junior, Dias played seven games for the Wests Tigers during the 2022 season but failed to play in the NRL with the Sea Eagles.

The news comes after the Panthers signed Asu Kepaoa from the Wests Tigers on an immediate deal but lost Ativalu Lisati to the Melbourne Storm.

This season, Dias has managed 13 tackle busts, 578.5 post-contact metres, 262 total tackles and has been averaging 101 running metres per game.