Former NRL winger joins a new team to continue his career
In order to pursue his rugby league career, Ken Sio, a former winger for the Parramatta Eels and Newcastle Knights, has joined a new team.
Sio returned to Australia at the end of last year, having signed a contract with the Thirlmere Roosters of the Macarthur Rugby League, following his release from the Salford Red Devils of the Super League.
Sio went through the Parramatta Eels’ Under 20s system the two years prior, and he made his NRL debut for the team in 2011.
He would score in his first game as a junior for the Wentworthville Magpies, and he would stay with the team until the end of 2014 before heading overseas to play for the Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super League.
In 2017, he returned to the NRL and signed a two-year contract with the Newcastle Knights. He did, however, return to the Super League for the Salford Red Devils until the end of the previous season following a well-documented dispute.
Here, he participated in their 2019 Old Trafford Grand Final loss to St. Helens RLFC and finished as the Super League’s top try-scorer in 2021.
Head coach Paul Rowley has paid tribute to Sio’s five-year tenure at the team, considering him one of the Red Devils’ best-ever acquisitions. Sio chose to leave the team on compassionate grounds.
“Everyone in the group has such great regard for Kenny, and he has been a dependable friend to the group and me,” Rowley remarked.
“But we totally support Ken’s decision to devote all of his time to his family, and we hope the best for him, Vicky, and the twins going forward.”
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Trial 2 team: Fermor is one of the 17 Titans who will play the Eels again in Ipswich.
When Beau Fermor lines up against the Parramatta Eels on Sunday at North Ipswich Reserve, it will be his first rugby league match in a full year.
The 25-year-old will be one of 17 Titans to play in their first game under new head coach Des Hasler. Last weekend, the Dolphins gave the young players on the Gold Coast a chance to show off.
On Sunday, the remaining members of the squad watched from the sidelines. Seven of those “teen Titans”—Klese Haas, Joe Stimson, Harley Smith-Shields, Tom Weaver, Jaylan De Groot, Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui, and Josiah Pahulu—will return for the club’s second trial.
In his debut, new signing Keenan Palasia will start at prop, while Tino Fa’asuamaleaui shifts to lock, with Isaac Liu sitting out the game with a minor knee injury.
With Jayden Campbell out of the lineup, Keano Kini will wear the No. 1 jersey for AJ Brimson’s first game of 2024 at center.
When the Titans visit Ipswich on Sunday, they will be returning after a 14-year absence. They last played there in 2010, and after overwhelming the Broncos 52-0 in that trial, they will be hoping for a similar outcome.
The game takes place at North Ipswich Reserve on Sunday at 4 p.m. (AEST).
