Penrith add Blake to long-term NRL brigade

Penrith have extended the contract of speedy NRL centre Waqa Blake until the end of 2023, adding to their list of players locked in long-term at the club.

Waqa Blake

Waqa Blake has extended his contract with the Penrith Panthers until 2023. (AAP)

Speedy Penrith centre Waqa Blake has become the sixth Panther to commit long-term to the club, signing on until the end of the 2023 NRL season.

A Fiji representative who scored 33 tries in 78 games for the Panthers, Blake was already signed on for 2019 before inking the extension.

The move means he will be taken off the free agents' market when November 1 hits next week, after the 23-year-old signed a four-year extension with the club.

"Waqa is fast developing into one of the most dangerous attacking players in the NRL," Panthers boss Phil Gould said.

"We firmly believe he is a representative player of the future and we are excited to know he will be with us for at least the next five seasons."

The signature keeps with Gould's plans to sign younger players to longer-term deals, something that has been synonymous with his time at the club.

NSW State of Origin representatives Nathan Cleary and Reagan Campbell-Gillard have each signed until the end of 2024, Blake until 2023 while Viliame Kikau, Moses Leota and Dean Whare's deals expire at the end of 2022.

"I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to commit my future to the club," Blake said.

"Panthers is home for me now and I really couldn't see myself playing anywhere else.

"I've got a lot of belief in this team and what we can achieve over the next few years."


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Source: AAP

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