Sea Eagles player immediately released, signs with new club
He has played 79 NRL matches.
Sean Keppie has officially gained a release from the remainder of his playing contract with the Manly Sea Eagles to join the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
The Rabbitohs confirmed the news on Friday morning which had been reported over the last few weeks, announcing they have secured the prop on a three-year deal.
The move will see Keppie relocate to Redfern until at least the end of the 2026 season.
A highly rated junior, Keppie has impressed at first-grade level, but at times has struggled to land consistent minutes within the Manly system, first under Des Hasler, and then under Anthony Seibold during his first season in charge in 2023.
Keppie’s move to Redfern will present a new opportunity, and while the club has Thomas Burgess and Tevita Tatola to likely control their starting spots in 2024, it’s a wide-open race beyond that for the likes of Davvy Moale and Shaquai Mitchell who will now be joined by Keppie, with Burgess also likely to leave the club at the end of 2024.
South Sydney’s head of football Mark Ellison said Keppie had been on South Sydney’s radar for some time.
“We’ve been watching Sean for a number of seasons and he has developed into a strong front rower with controlled aggression in both defence and attack,” Ellison said in a club statement confirming the news.
“Manly has had one of the more formidable forward packs in recent seasons and Sean has played a big role in that.
“We’re also impressed with his commitment to working in the community and we’re looking forward to incorporating him into Souths Cares and their transformational programs which all of our players get involved with throughout the year.
“We’re looking forward to Sean joining our squad in November for pre-season training and to seeing him pull on the red and green jersey in 2024 and beyond.”
Keppie played 79 NRL games for the Sea Eagles since his debut in 2019, with the Narellan Jets junior also a former Australian Schoolboys representative.
Forward Corey Waddell returns to Manly Sea Eagles
Corey Waddell has left Canterbury amid their ongoing rebuild and will return to Manly on a one-year deal.
The 27-year-old forward made his NRL debut with the Sea Eagles in 2019 and played 36 of his 95 first-grade games there.
He joined the Bulldogs in 2021 to reunite with then-coach Trent Barrett, who mentored him in Penrith’s junior system.
Waddell typically starts in the second row but coach Anthony Seibold indicated he could be used in the middle, with Josh Schuster and Haumole Okalau’atu unlikely to be ousted from the edges next season.
“The thing that interested me in Corey is his work ethic,” said Seibold.
“He is a very hard worker. He adds a different sort of dimension to the middle forwards that we have already got.”
Waddell joins Paul Alamoti, Jake Averillo, Kyle Flanagan, Jayden Okunbor, Franklin Pele and Luke Thompson in leaving Canterbury as part of a post-season clean-out.
