Wests Tigers announce 2019 Development Players

Author: Dan Talintyre
Timestamp: Tue 9 Oct 2018, 12:34 PM

Wests Tigers have today confirmed the club's development players for 2019.

The club is pleased to announce the signing of Jock Madden, Tommy Talau and Kane Bradley, as well as the promotion of Wests Tigers Jersey Flegg player Alex Seyfarth.

The NRL initiative allows clubs to sign a maximum of six development players each year; the players train full-time with the NRL squad but are not eligible to play first-grade.

Wests Tigers Recruitment Manager David Warwick said the club was looking forward to watching the players take the next step in their rugby league careers at Wests Tigers.

"All of these young men possess excellent talent and we're delighted to have them join the club," Warwick said. "Training full-time for the year is a great challenge, but it will certainly see them progress a long way as a result of being around the senior squad.

"As we saw with the success of our Development players this year, having that time with the NRL squad is greatly beneficial to their growth on and off the field, and we're excited to see how this year's group progresses throughout the 2019 season and beyond."

JF Player of the Year: 2018

Alex Seyfarth was a part of Wests Tigers Jersey Flegg squad in 2017 and 2018, and represented New South Wales in the U/18's State of Origin match against Queensland.

Seyfarth is a tireless forward who is possesses great power in both attack and defence, who was recently named by the club's coaching staff as the Jersey Flegg Player of the Year for 2018.

Australian Schoolboy and New South Wales junior representative playmakers Jock Madden and Tommy Talau will both join Wests Tigers development squad in 2019 — Madden joins the club from the Newcastle Knights while Talau arrives from the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.

Wests Tigers fourth development player is Kane Bradley — a dynamic back-rower who stands at 195cm and 102kg and was named in the NSW U/18's squad earlier this year.

In addition to the four Development players, Wests Tigers are pleased to confirm the signing of Australian Schoolboy representative Zac Cini for the next three years. Cini will join the club in 2019 and begin his development contract with Wests Tigers in 2020. All four Development players will begin full-time pre-season training when the NRL squad returns in November ahead of the 2019 NRL season.