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Wests Tigers will learn on Wednesday if they have signed Warrior Tui Lolohea

WESTS Tigers will learn on Wednesday if they have signed Warrior Tui Lolohea, but Mitchell Moses’ departure to Parramatta is again delayed.

WESTS Tigers will learn on Wednesday if they have signed New Zealand Warriors young gun Tui Lolohea for the rest of the season, but Mitchell Moses will be forced to wait until after Friday week’s blockbuster against Brisbane to link with Parramatta.

The Daily Telegraph can also reveal fellow departing star James Tedesco went out of his way to tell his Tigers teammates last week he planned to give it his all during his final season at the club.

Sydney Roosters-bound Tedesco even made a point of contacting every Tigers player involved with the representative teams to assure them he would go out in style, starting with Friday’s clash against South Sydney.

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Lolohea looks likely to land in Leichhardt. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)
Lolohea looks likely to land in Leichhardt. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)

It has been a rollercoaster nine weeks for the Tigers since they last met Souths in round one, with three different coaches, three of their “big four” snubbing rich deals to sign elsewhere, and Tim Simona’s betting and drug revelations.

The signing speculation will continue today with Tigers officials expecting an answer from Lolohea and whether he will head to Tiger Town — where he is guaranteed a first-grade spot — or accept an 11th-hour offer from North Queensland.

Lolohea is expected to slot into five-eighth this season before taking Tedesco’s No.1 jersey next year.

Moses is desperate to join the Eels after last month signing a two-year deal, but the Tigers are keen for him to feature in their Suncorp Stadium road trip on Friday week.

Should he then be released, Moses’ first game for the Eels could be in round 12 against South Sydney, a team he will have met for a third time in three months.

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The Tigers are also expected to meet with Russell Packer’s management in the next 48 hours to thrash out the finer details of a four-year deal, while they are also keen to open negotiations with Will Hopoate, especially now the Bulldogs will struggle to retain him with the pending arrival of Kieran Foran.

If the Tigers miss out on Lolohea, they will not lure Te Maire Martin back to the club for the remainder of the season.

Elijah Taylor said it was a relief now it was known where Moses, Woods and Tedesco were all headed next year, and they were all determined to help the club end its finals exodus.

Moses and Tedesco looked in good spirits as they posed with a fan before training at Concord Oval.

Outgoing Tigers Moses and Tedesco want to leave in style. Photo: Phil Hillyard
Outgoing Tigers Moses and Tedesco want to leave in style. Photo: Phil Hillyard

Sauaso Sue was in Samoan camp last week when Tedesco called him and told him he’d give his all in the club’s colours.

“It was really professional of Teddy and I respect him for it,’’ Sue said.

“He called me, I didn’t know who it was, but he told me how it was and he’d rip in the rest of the year.’’

Meanwhile, Malakai Watene-Zelezniak, who was recruited from Penrith in recent weeks, is in line to make his debut in the centres after being named in the No. 21 jersey for the Souths clash.

But Jamal Idris’ season is over after he suffered an ACL injury at training over the weekend, despite attending Monday’s Indigenous Round launch and strangely telling journalists he was keen to play Friday.

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Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/teams/tigers/wests-tigers-will-learn-on-wednesday-if-they-have-signed-warrior-tui-lolohea/news-story/eb629537ca141770d645057caf069faf