Ex Huddersfield Giants star Paul Whatuira to sign for Parramatta Eels
Paul Whatuira
FORMER Huddersfield Giants star Paul Whatuira is set to sign for Parramatta Eels.
Whatuira, 29, agreed a one-year deal yesterday, with the option for a further year, and and will formally sign with the club subject to a medical on Monday.
Whatuira was set to retire after a three-year stint with Huddersfield before a meeting with new Eels coach Stephen Kearney, a former teammate, gave him an NRL lifeline.
He left the Giants following a breakdown which saw him assault two men in Huddersfield before being admitted to a psychiatric hospital in October last year.
Speaking to reporters Down Under yesterday, Whatuira said: ''It's a good opportunity for me to try and establish myself back in the NRL. It's been three years, and I'm really looking forward to it.
'I always thought I'd come back and hopefully finish up in the NRL. It's a great opportunity Parramatta have given me … it's a great club with tradition, and they've got some quality players there. I've still got that hunger and I'm still willing to learn, and I'm just stoked.
''I was contemplating retirement, but one door closes and another one opens."
The centre said his life had turned around after the birth of his daughter, Gabrielle, who is almost one.
