Newcastle Knights winger ‘bound’ for Super League with NRL exit likely

Newcastle Knights outside back Krystian Mapapalangi could be the latest NRL player heading to Super League in 2025.

Mapapalangi is off-contract at Newcastle at the end of this season, and the Knights have already confirmed that he will not be offered fresh terms beyond this season.

The Australian, who made his debut for the club in 2022, is one of a number of players whose future in the competition appears to be increasingly uncertain as the NRL heads into its off-season.

And Mapapalangi has been linked with a move to Super League in 2025, with reports from the Daily Telegraph suggesting that the player is ‘bound’ for Super League next year.

The 21-year-old has played seven games in the NRL for Newcastle, with five of those coming this season. He also featured ten times in the New South Wales Cup this season for the Knights’ reserve side in 2024.

Mapapalangi’s age means it would be easier for English clubs to strike a deal for the player due to quota regulations that were loosened this year for players under the age of 24.

However, it remains to be seen whether any club would be willing to take a punt on a player without a plethora of frontline, top level experience.

Mapapalangi would offer utility value to any potential club, as he has featured at both wing and centre in the NRL for the Knights.

A number of clubs still have quota spots remaining going into 2025 as they eye up new signings from overseas, with a busy winter of transfer activity still likely across the competition ahead of next year.

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