Eels young gun heads North and signs with the Cowboys

Although recent injuries have held him back, many Parramatta Eels fans and rival fans are of the belief that Kelepi Tanginoa will be a future star.

For Eels fans, who have watched him grow, develop and mature into a talented, exciting player, they will have to keep tabs on his development from afar now, with the young back-rower signing with the North Queensland Cowboys.

Tanginoa has signed a 2-year deal with the club who are excited to have him on board.

“We believe Kelepi is one of the best young back-row talents in the NRL and expect he will thrive with the Cowboys,” North Queensland’s general manager – football Peter Parr said.

“He’ll be determined to become a regular first grader in 2015 and he’ll get the opportunity to do that with us.

“We’re confident he will be a long-term success and our members and fans will thoroughly enjoy watching him play his footy.”

Having to replace the departing Tariq Sims was no easy task but in Tanginoa, the club believe they have found a good fit to replace the departing back-rower.

“Once we lost Tariq we wanted to try and find a similar type player,” Parr said.

“We wanted to try and ensure we got somebody with some youth on their side and all our research on Kelepi has come up 100 per cent both on and off the field.

“We think he has a really exciting future and we’re delighted that he’s chosen to come to us.”

Additionally, the Cowboys have heard only good things about the young back-rower and they believe he will fit in perfectly with their culture and club ethos.

“Ability is a really important thing but it’s got to be balanced out with what they do off the field,” he said.

“We’ve heard nothing but good reports about Kelepi off the field.

“I do know that he’s very diligent in his preparation and I’ve met him a couple of times and he’s very respectful young fella and we haven’t heard anything negative said about him on or off the field.”

The Eels issued a brief statement regarding the release of Tanginoa:

The Dyldam Parramatta Eels confirm front-rower Kelepi Tanginoa has been granted an early release from his contract with the club to join the North Queensland Cowboys in 2015.

The club wishes him all the best for his future.