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Rugby League: Catalans Dragons Emerge as Frontrunners to Sign Wests Tigers’ Brent Naden for 2025 Season
In an intriguing development, the Catalans Dragons have emerged as the leading contenders to secure the services of Wests Tigers centre Brent Naden for the 2025 Super League season, according to reliable sources at Love Rugby League.
Naden is one of several players set to depart the Tigers at the end of the current campaign, as the club embarks on a significant rebuilding phase. Wests CEO Shane Richardson has been in the UK recently, engaging with multiple Super League teams to explore opportunities for players the club would be willing to release.
Richardson has also been scouting the Super League market for talent, as reported in the Australian media. However, it seems one Wests player poised to make the opposite journey in 2025 is Naden.
Despite having another year remaining on his Tigers contract, Naden is expected to be granted a release to pursue a move to the Super League. And it is the Catalans Dragons who have emerged as the frontrunners to secure his signature, with a deal said to be close to completion.
Capable of featuring at both centre and wing, Naden would provide valuable experience to the Catalans backline, which is set to lose the services of England internationals Tom Johnstone and Tom Davies at the end of this season. With fellow winger Fouad Yaha and centre Matt Ikuvalu also off-contract, the Dragons are positioning Naden as a priority target to join the club next year.
Naden has made six appearances for the Tigers in the 2023 season, but the team has yet to record a victory in any of those matches. With Wests Tigers currently enduring a nine-game losing streak and sitting at the bottom of the NRL table, a major rebuild is on the horizon – and Naden appears poised to be one of the players at the forefront of that overhaul, with a move to Perpignan in 2025 now looming.
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