Former Sydney Roosters utility and two-time NRL premiership winner Joey Manu has been officially unveiled as the Papua New Guinea Chiefs' much-anticipated seventh signing, inking a two-year deal that will see him return to rugby league ahead of the 2028 NRL season.
The Chiefs had been building suspense around the announcement for weeks, listing the spot as "007 — reserved" on a staircase at their home base that displays each confirmed signing. Speculation had mounted that Penrith superstar Nathan Cleary could claim the slot as the club's inaugural halfback, but it is Manu who ultimately fills the role.
A world-class addition to an already formidable backline
Manu joins a roster that already reads like an NRL all-star lineup. The Chiefs have previously confirmed Jarome Luai, Alex Johnston, Connor Watson, Zac Lomax, Brian To'o and English prop Matty Lees — and rugby league observers will note that Manu's arrival gives the club a backline that few sides in the competition will be able to match.
Chiefs general manager Michael Chammas said the club was delighted to add Manu to its ranks.
"He is a world-class footballer with versatility across several positions and can change a game in a single moment with the skills he possesses," Chammas said. "His experience and demonstrated success at the highest level will be a great benefit to our team and we can't wait to see him have a significant impact in the Chiefs jersey."
Across 181 NRL appearances for the Roosters, Manu established himself as one of the competition's most dangerous and versatile backs. He was part of the club's back-to-back premiership-winning sides in 2018 and 2019, claimed the Dally M centre of the year award in 2022, and later that same year took home the Golden Boot as the sport's best international player. Equally at home in the centres, at fullback or even in the halves, his signing mirrors the type of marquee recruitment that has already drawn widespread attention to the club.
A code-hopping journey that led him away from the All Blacks dream
Manu's path to Port Moresby has been anything but straightforward. After the Roosters' 2024 finals campaign, the New Zealand representative departed the NRL for rugby union, first playing in Japan before joining French club Racing 92. When he left league, he made no promises about returning, and many assumed that if he did, it would be with the Roosters — the club that had scouted him as a teenager.
His signing with PNG now appears to have effectively closed the door on another long-held ambition: representing the All Blacks. New Zealand Rugby's selection policy requires players to be based in domestic competition, and Manu's French deal runs through to the end of 2027. By the time his two-year Chiefs contract concludes, he will be 33 years old — making an All Blacks call-up a near impossibility.
You can read more about the contract deliberations Manu faced before committing to the Chiefs and what that decision means for his career.
What's next for the NRL's 19th franchise
The Chiefs, set to become the NRL's 19th team, hold a significant recruiting advantage over rival clubs — the ability to offer players tax-free salaries, a drawcard that has clearly helped land some of the game's biggest names.
The club will be able to formally enter the open market on November 1, and Nathan Cleary remains among the high-profile players who could become a free agent at that point. The Chiefs have also been linked in recent weeks to Gold Coast utility AJ Brimson and Canberra second-rower Hudson Young, both State of Origin representatives. Other household names currently without contracts beyond 2027 include Isaah Yeo, Latrell Mitchell and Bradman Best.
With seven signings now locked in and the open market still months away, PNG's roster is shaping up to be one of the most talked-about in the competition — and they are only just getting started.
