West Tigers coach Ivan Cleary has gone back to his former club Penrith to sign outside back Malakai Watene-Zelezniak.
The Tigers on Saturday confirmed the signing of the 25-year-old for the remainder of 2017 and the 2018 NRL seasons.
"I look forward to having Malakai as a part of our squad moving forward," said Cleary.
"Malakai offers great versatility and further strengthens the depth in our outside backs."
Wests Tigers CEO Justin Pascoe echoed Cleary's sentiments.
"This is a great opportunity to Malakai to further his NRL career at a new club," said Pascoe.
"He's a great young man who I've had the pleasure of working with before and I'm sure he'll fit right in here at Wests Tigers."
Capable of playing wing, centre and fullback, Watene-Zelezniak made his NRL debut for the Penrith Panthers in Round 6 this season against the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
The Tigers recently announced the signings of Josh Reynolds (Bulldogs) and Ben Matulino (Warriors) for next season, as the joint-venture club look to rebuild under Cleary.
Malakai and younger brother Dallin fulfilled a childhood dream as they took the field together at Pepper Stadium and combined on the left edge to score a memorable try for the Panthers.
"Malakai is a perfect example of time and patience in the Panthers development systems," Panthers General Manager Phil Gould said.
"He has worked really hard for a long period of time to develop into the player he is today.
"We could never deny him this opportunity to secure a fulltime NRL contract with another club.
"We wish Malakai all the luck in the world and we will follow his career with interest."
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