Australian Rugby Sevens forward Jesse Parahi has turned his back on an opportunity to play at the Olympics by signing with Wests Tigers in an indication that players believe the team for Rio is set to be dominated by Wallabies stars.
Parahi, who was a member of Australia's bronze medal-winning Sevens team at last year's Commonwealth Games, will join the Tigers on a one-year deal in 2016 rather than aim for an Olympic berth.
Tigers officials view him as a wide-running back-rower and say at the age of 26 Parahi wants to return to the code he first began playing as a Canterbury Bulldogs junior while still a chance of playing at NRL level.
However, Parahi won't make the move until after an Oceania tournament in Auckland in November, at which Australia hope to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
Assuming Australia succeed in qualifying for the Olympics, players like Quade Cooper, Israel Folau, Henry Speight, Bernard Foley, Matt Toomua and Sean McMahon are tipped to join the Sevens program after the end-of-season Rugby World Cup at the expense of players who have been playing in the IRB World Series.
Parahi, who has Maori heritage, played both codes until his selection in the 2007 Australian rugby union schoolboys team and he was a member of the Brumbies Academy program before moving full-time to Sevens five years ago.
He has represented Australia 33 times in Sevens and captained the side during a number of IRB tournaments since making his debut in the London leg of the international circuit in 2010.
The Tigers believe the speed, footwork and defence he has shown in Sevens will enable Parahi, who is 195 centimetres tall and weighs 104kg, to make a successful transition to league and have signed him on a 12-month contract.
The club also announced the signing of Manly players Michael Chee Kam and Jack Littlejohn on one-year deals.
Chee Kam, 23, has played two NRL games for the Sea Eagles and is a former Australian Schoolboys representative who plays primarily in the back-row, while Littlejohn can cover a range of positions in the back line but is seen as predominantly a five-eighth or halfback.
Tigers coach Jason Taylor said that all three players would be valuable additions to the club's roster for next season.
"It's really important for us to start building our depth at the club," Taylor said. "These three guys are going to help us do that. They are all talented players in their own right and having spoken to them each individually, I know that they are coming here to push for first-grade positions and that's what we want.
"It's important to have those players at our club who are willing to put in the desired work and effort – both on and off the field – to get themselves in a position where they are genuinely pushing for an NRL position.
"These guys have that ambition and it's going to build competition within our ranks which will help push us forward as a club."
