King Vuniyayawa: Leeds Rhinos forward's move to Salford Red Devils confirmed

The front-rower joined Leeds from New Zealand Warriors ahead of this season on a one-year deal and rejected new terms from Leeds in order to move across the Pennines.

Vuniyayawa, 26, said: “I decided to come to Salford to take on new challenges and to keep progressing in terms of my footy.

"Super League footy is quite different to NRL footy, so learning to adjust to the game and how they play over here has taken a bit of time for me, but I’m getting there.

“With joining the Devils, I feel like it’s a good move for me to focus on myself and what I can bring to the team.”

Salford's director of rugby and operations Ian Blease said: “I am pleased and excited to bring in a quality player like King Vuniyayawa to the Red Devils for the next two seasons.

“King will add some strength and size to our pack as we continue to build our squad for 2022 and onwards.

"Going forward King will get the opportunity to build his career with the Red Devils.

"As a club, we will work hard with and give King our full backing to enable him to become a leading Super League forward.”

Vuniyayawa's exit was confirmed by Leeds last month.

At the time, coach Richard Agar said:

"When King joined us, we took a chance on him but he took a chance on us too. It is a credit to him and his work this year that he has now received multiple offers for his future.

"We fully understand he is looking after his longer-term future with his next contract and, while we are sad to see him go, I am pleased for him."

Leeds have a space on their overseas quota and are looking to add a forward to their squad for next year.

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