Game-breaking Samoan international Junior Paulo has signed a lengthy extension to stay at the Eels until the end of the 2026 season in a much-needed win for Parramatta amidst one of the club’s more brutal NRL offseasons.
The Samoan star joins Clinton Gutherson and Reagan Campbell-Gilliard in pledging themselves to the blue-&-gold long term. Paulo will play out his 2022 deal before activating the four-year agreement.
Parramatta’s main rivals for their game-breaking prop’s signature were expansion team the Dolphins, who have been rather luckless in the player market a year out from their debut season. In the end, loyalty swung Paulo’s head, with the 28-year-old eager to repay the club he’s been at since 2019, even taking a minor slice from his $610k pay packet too.
Eels general manager Mark O’Neill said: “Junior is an asset to the club on and off the field.”
It was the win the Eels needed, after fans watched Marata Niukore, Isaiah Papali’i, and Reed Mahoney ink deals with other clubs starting from 2023, including several close Sydney rivals.
The Eels have scored a major coup locking up Paulo until 2026, with the New South Wales forward heading straight into prime years of his NRL career. By the time his deal finishes he will be nearly 34, and potentially looking to retire.
Paulo first debuted with the Eels in 2013, playing 53 games before he moved to the Raiders for a three-year stint in the nation’s capital. The 28-year-old made 55 appearances for Canberra, and was contracted to the green machine when he represented Samoa at the 2017 World Cup. In 2019 he returned to Parramatta to take up a rich $2.8 million offer.
The international star played six Origin games between 2020-21 for the Blues.
Parramatta’s attention now turns to their final offseason headache: Ryan Matterson is still off-contract, and maybe be moved on by the blue-and-gold powerbrokers to save the club salary cap space.
