Injury struck at a bad time for Curtis Sironen during his Manly Sea Eagles stint and as a result, he will head to England with St Helens.
Flying high with the Sea Eagles early on, a long-term injury saw him rehabilitate and eventually struggle to recapture his back-row spot.
With greener pastures in mind and being off-contract, Sironen will instead take his talents to England to bolster an already impressive St Helens side.
Manly CEO Stephen Humphreys expects Sironen to play a part in the finals series this year and wished him all the best for the move.
“Curtis has been a fine player for our Club,” said Humphreys.
“He has given great service to Manly and is very popular with his teammates as well as Sea Eagles Members.
“Curtis will continue to be an integral member of our squad as we head into the finals series.
“We thank Curtis for his fantastic contribution to the Club and wish him great success in the next chapter of his Rugby League journey.”
Sironen, whose surname is synonymous with rugby league, is the son of Balmain legend Paul Sironen.
It was back in 2012 when Sironen made his first-grade debut with the Wests Tigers and almost a decade on, Sironen cannot wait to get stuck in at St Helens.
“I am very excited about the next chapter in my career and I couldn’t have hoped to have signed with a better club,” Sironen said.
“Every Australian player knows that the Saints set the benchmark in the English Super League.
“I felt extremely comfortable from the get-go when speaking to Kristian Woolf and Mike Rush and I even had an opportunity to chat to Paul Wellens about the move.”
Sironen had always planned to play in England at some point and talking to former Manly teammate Joel Thompson made his decision to join St Helens even easier.
“It was a very easy decision for me because I always wanted to play in England at some stage and I feel now is the right time to be making the move,” Sironen continued.
“My ex-Manly teammate Joel Thompson also told me some wonderful things about the club and its supporters.
“Obviously, my focus remains on the Manly Sea Eagles and hopefully I can finish the season on a big note.”
St Helens coach Kristian Woolf praised numerous aspects of Sironen’s game and knows they will help the side from 2022.
“He is a big athletic, edge back-rower with a very good skill set,” Woolf said.
“Being a stand-off in his younger years he has a really good passing and second phase game, so he has all the attacking attributes to make a real impact for us next season.
“He knows how to play tough and has very good defensive ability so he will improve us.”
