NRL's Dragons sign Murdoch-Masila

St George Illawarra have signed experienced NRL forward Ben Murdoch-Masila after the Warriors granted him a release last month.

JOSH MCGUIRE.
JOSH MCGUIRE. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Ben Murdoch-Masila will join St George Illawarra for the next two seasons after last month being granted a release from the final year of his Warriors contract.

The Tonga international forward is able to play in the middle of the park or an edge and mostly featured from the bench in two injury-affected years with the Warriors.

Murdoch-Masila brings 211 games of first-grade experience to the Dragons, most of which came playing for English Super League sides Salford and Warrington.

The 31-year-old began his career with stints at the Wests Tigers and Penrith, playing in preliminary finals for both sides, and also came off the bench for Tonga in three games at last year's Rugby League World Cup.

His signing bolsters a Dragons forward pack that has lost Josh McGuire, Tariq Sims, George Burgess, Jack Gosiewski and Daniel Alvaro since the end of the season.

"Ben is a quality player with great experience and he certainly provides what we have been looking to build within our forward pack," Dragons' general manager of football Ben Haran said.

"We are excited to see him join the playing group next week and look forward to the impact he will have at the club."