One of rugby league’s most famous names is set to link with the Warriors after South Sydney back-rower Bayley Sironen agreed to a three-year contract.
The 23-year-old forward, the son of the legendary Paul Sironen and younger brother of Manly back-rower Curtis Sironen, will join the Warriors next season after establishing himself as a first-grader at the Rabbitohs in 2020.
After five games in his first two NRL seasons, he appeared in 19 games this year and Warriors recruitment manager Peter O’Sullivan said the club had kept an eye on him for some time.
New coach Nathan Brown said Sironen would be a big boost for their forward stocks.
"I was really keen to add an edge/middle forward to our roster for 2021 and Bayley fits the bill," he said.
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"He was able to fill in at five-eighth and centre as well as the back row in 2020 so he adds the versatility, skill and defensive capabilities that we were looking for.
"His addition puts pressure on all our forwards for positions and adds invaluable depth of quality in our back row."
He made his NRL debut with the Wests Tigers in 2017 but played just one more NRL match for the club before linking with South Sydney in 2019.
His acquisition adds to an impressive off-season recruiting haul for the Warriors, who have also landed the signatures of Ben Murdoch-Masila (Warrington), Kane Evans (Parramatta), Euan Aitken (St George Illawarra), Addin Fonua-Blake (Manly), Sean O’Sullivan (Brisbane) and Marcelo Montoya (Canterbury).
Rabbitohs head of football Mark Ellison said they granted Sironen a release "as we did not think it was fair to stand in the way of him taking up an extended and valuable offer at another club".
