It’s official: former Australian international and NSW Origin player Jamal Idris will wear Wests Tigers colours next year.
The 26-year-old has played a total of 131 first-grade games since making his debut for Canterbury-Bankstown in 2008.
He played four seasons for the Bulldogs before spending two years with the Titans from 2012 and with the Panthers from 2014.
The 2009 Dally M Rookie of the Year has agreed to join Wests Tigers in 2017 and will add plenty of experience, size and skill to the club’s first grade squad.
Head coach Jason Taylor said that having a player of Idris’ experience and natural ability would be a great addition to the club’s first grade squad in 2017.
“We’re really looking forward to having Jamal join us ahead of the 2017 season,” Taylor said.
“He brings a lot of size and strength to our outside backs which is something that we identified that needed to be improved on for the coming year.
“He’s played the game at the highest level and comes to Wests Tigers with a lot to prove,” he said.
“Jamal’s been working hard over the last couple of weeks to ensure that he’s ready for the start of pre-season and he’s incredibly motivated to get back into the game and we’re really happy that he’s decided to do it with us.”
After spending 18 months away from rugby league, the Forster Hawks junior said he was excited to be making his return to the NRL with Wests Tigers.
“For me, it’s so exciting as there are a lot of up-and-coming young players here,” Idris said.
“The average age is really young, and they’re only going to get better and more experienced. If they do that together, then they’re going to gel well as a team and that’s really exciting.
“I’ve learned a lot over the last year, and the biggest thing was that I was playing rugby league for others. This time, I’m playing rugby league for myself,” he said. “There’s no better way to get back into it then to get stuck into training, and I’m improving a lot every week. I’m just hoping to do it now week in and week out.
“I can’t wait to meet all the new fans and Members of Wests Tigers,” Idris said.
“This club has a great history and supporter base, and I can’t wait to meet and get to know so many more fans.”
