ST HELENS have confirmed the signing of Fijian international centre Waqa Blake on a one-year deal.
The Merseyside club kept the number 3 shirt vacant following the departure of Will Hopoate, and now they have filled that spot with the 6’3 flier.
Blake has spent the last four-and-a-half seasons with Parramatta Eels and was a key member of their squad that reached the 2022 Grand Final.
He has also played for Fiji on five occasions, most recently in the 2023 Pacific Championships where he scored three times.
About the move to Saints, the 29-year-old said: “To come to a club like St Helens where they’ve always been in the top four or top two, and then such a big thing winning four-in-a-row (Super League titles), I’m hoping I can fit in, and we can win another one. Just looking at all the players that they have there, all the strike, I’m keen to get to work.”
Blake spoke to former Saint Kevin Naiqama prior to making the move.
“I think it’s getting better (Super League). I saw St Helens beat Penrith last year in the World Club Challenge, no one would have thought it. The quality of football is getting better and you can see that in the England side that played Tonga.
“I’ve played with Kevin Naiqama and he killed it at Saints, and I watched the Grand Final where he won Man of the Match. He told me a lot about Super League when we were in Fiji camp, how special it is over there, and that Saints are a great bunch of boys, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Head coach Paul Wellens is delighted at signing Blake: “We have been on the lookout for some time now and we had other bits around the salary cap that we needed to sort; in retaining our own players which is always important.
“But this has also been at the forefront of our minds, and we are so pleased to bring in a player of Waqa’s quality into the squad.”
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