{"id":392340,"date":"2026-01-05T03:40:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T03:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/392340\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T03:40:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T03:40:12","slug":"roosters-sign-another-manly-star-ahead-of-2026-nrl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/392340\/","title":{"rendered":"Roosters sign another Manly star ahead of 2026 &#8211; NRL News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotackle.com\/nrl\/teams\/sydney-roosters\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sydney Roosters<\/a> have moved to bolster their outside-back depth for 2026, securing yet another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotackle.com\/nrl\/teams\/manly-sea-eagles\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Manly Sea Eagles<\/a> gun.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The club confirmed on Monday the signature of experienced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotackle.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NRL<\/a> campaigner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotackle.com\/players\/tommy-talau\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tommy Talau<\/a>, who will join the club with immediate effect for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Talau is expected to add cover and competition to a Roosters backline that is set to undergo significant change over the next couple of years.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-225630\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"NRL Rd 24 \u2013 Wests Tigers v Sea Eagles\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" data-lazy- data-lazy- data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2230542312-scaled.jpg.webp.webp\"\/>SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA &#8211; AUGUST 17: Tommy\u00a0Talau of the Sea Eagles looks on during the round 24 NRL match between Wests Tigers and Manly Sea Eagles at Allianz Stadium, on August 17, 2025, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jason McCawley\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Roosters Head of Recruitment <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotackle.com\/coaches\/joel-carbone\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Joel Carbone<\/a> said the club identified Talau as a strong fit for their roster build moving forward, pointing to his reliability and versatility at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotackle.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NRL<\/a> level.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">&#8220;Tommy&#8217;s signature adds valuable depth and experience to our backline,&#8221; Carbone said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">&#8220;He&#8217;s a strong competitor who has shown he can perform consistently at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotackle.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NRL<\/a> level, and we believe he&#8217;ll complement the talent we already have within our squad.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The 25-year-old brings 83 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotackle.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NRL<\/a> appearances to Bondi after debuting in 2019, with the ability to cover both centre and wing roles, a trait increasingly valued by clubs navigating injuries, Origin periods and evolving squad structures.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Talau&#8217;s arrival comes as the Roosters continue to plan beyond 2026, with several high-profile backline names set to depart the club or linked to retirement in the coming seasons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">With the club placing an increased emphasis on roster flexibility, Talau&#8217;s signing appears designed to ensure depth and experience are in place as the Roosters transition into their next phase.<\/p>\n<p>        &#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\n        &#13;<br \/>\n                        &#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"&#13; &#13; The Sydney Roosters have moved to bolster their outside-back depth for 2026, securing yet another Manly&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253462,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-392340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=392340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=392340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=392340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=392340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}