St George Illawarra have added an intriguing piece to what they hope will be a premiership-winning puzzle after the Warriors granted their request for an early release of Kiwi international Nathan Fien.

Fien, who had already agreed to a three-year deal in May to join the Dragons from 2010, was given an immediate release by the Warriors from the remainder of his 2009 contract.

With June 30 the last day an NRL club can register a player for this year, the Dragons moved swiftly to snare the utility.

“The circumstance arose for Nathan to join our club early, following an amicable discussion with the Warriors and his experience will add depth to our squad for the remainder of this year,” Dragons coach Wayne Bennett said.

“Nathan is a versatile player and I am sure he will fit in well with our club, players and the style of football we like to play.”

Fien, adept at either halfback or hooker, has been with the Warriors since leaving North Queensland in 2004, but hasn’t played for the Auckland-based club since round 10 this year.

He will begin training with the Dragons next Monday and is expected to battle with Mathew Head for the role of bench utility in the club’s run-in to the finals.

Head has struggled to make the spot his own as he continues his return from a debilitating knee injury, with Fien’s early arrival only adding to the uncertainty surrounding Head’s future at the club.

Warriors chief executive Wayne Scurrah said the club saw no reason to keep Fien at the club against his wishes.

“We were committed to Nathan staying at the club for the rest of the season,” Scurrah said.

“But given that he asked for a release and that he hasn’t been playing for the Warriors in recent weeks, it was only reasonable to allow him to take up this offer.”

Fien said he was surprised at how fast the the transaction occurred given he hadn’t given much thought to joining the joint-venture club until next season.

“But with the offer coming from St George Illawarra, I had to make a decision by the deadline about my plans,” Fien said.

“While I’m excited about the challenge ahead, it’s sad to leave this club. I’ve had a great time with the Warriors, playing with the boys here.”

Teams named on Tuesday for round 17 of the NRL
FRIDAY
BRISBANE BRONCOS v NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS at Suncorp Stadium, 7:35pm
BRISBANE: Karmichael Hunt, Antonio Winterstein, Steve Michaels, Justin Hodges, Israel Folau, Darren Lockyer (capt), Peter Wallace, Josh McGuire, Andrew McCullough, Joel Clinton, Alex Glenn, Sam Thaiday, Corey Parker. Interchange: Guy Williams, Lagi Setu, Tonie Carroll, Josh Hoffman, David Taylor (one to be omitted).
WARRIORS: Wade McKinnon, Kevin Locke, Jeroma Ropati, Joel Moon, Manu Vatuvei, Lance Hohaia, Stacey Jones, Sam Rapira, Ian Henderson, Steve Price (capt), Simon Mannering, Lewis Brown, Micheal Luck. Interchange: Aaron Heremaia, Jesse Royal, Ben Matulino, Jacob Lillyman, Patrick Ah Van, Russell Packer (two to be omitted)
Referees: Jared Maxwell, Bernard Sutton

ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS v SYDNEY ROOSTERS at WIN Jubilee Oval, 7:35pm
DRAGONS: Darius Boyd, Brett Morris, Matt Prior, Matt Cooper, Wendell Sailor, Jamie Soward, Ben Hornby (capt), Justin Poore, Dean Young, Jon Green, Jarrod Saffy, Ben Creagh, Neville Costigan. Interchange: Dan Hunt, Trent Merrin, Mathew Head, Jason Nightingale.
ROOSTERS: Sam Perrett, Sandor Earl, Mitchell Aubusson, Ben Jones, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Setaimata Sa, Mitchell Pearce, Nate Myles, Jake Friend, Lopini Paea, Anthony Cherrington, Willie Mason, Craig Fitzgibbon (capt). Interchange: Shane Shackleton, Frank-Paul Nuuausala, Tom Symonds, Nick Kouparitsas.
Referees: Tony Archer, Tony De Las Heras

SATURDAY
SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS v WESTS TIGERS at ANZ Stadium, 5:30pm
RABBITOHS: Nathan Merritt, Jamie Simpson, Colin Best, Ben Lowe, Fetuli Talanoa, John Sutton, Chris Sandow, Scott Geddes, Craig Wing, Roy Asotasi (capt), Luke Stuart, David Fa’alogo, Michael Crocker. Interchange: Issac Luke, Eddy Pettybourne, Shannan McPherson, Garret Crossman, David Kidwell (one to be omitted)
TIGERS: Shannon Gallant, Taniela Tuiaki, Blake Ayshford, Chris Lawrence, Beau Ryan, Benji Marshall, Tim Moltzen, Bryce Gibbs, Robbie Farah (capt), Todd Payten, Gareth Ellis, Danny Galea, Corey Payne. Interchange: John Morris, Dene Halatau, John Skandalis, Daine Laurie.
Referees: Steve Lyons, Alan Shortall

MELBOURNE STORM v NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS at Olympic Park, 7:30pm
STORM: Billy Slater, Steve Turner, Will Chambers, Greg Inglis, Joseph Tomane, Brett Finch, Cooper Cronk, Brett White, Cameron Smith (capt), Adam Blair, Sika Manu, Ryan Hoffman, Dallas Johnson. Interchange: Ryan Hinchcliffe, Scott Anderson, Aiden Tolman, Jeff Lima.
KNIGHTS: Kurt Gidley (capt), Keith Lulia, Junior Sau, Adam MacDougall, Akulia Uate, Ben Rogers, Jarrod Mullen, Mark Taufua, Isaac DeGois, Chris Houston, Steve Simpson, Zeb Taia, Matt Hilder. Interchange: Wes Naiqama, Marvin Karawana, Richie Faaoso, Danny Wicks.
Referees: Shayne Hayne, Matt Cecchin

NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS v CRONULLA SHARKS at Dairy Farmers Stadium, 7:30pm
COWBOYS: Matthew Bowen, Michael Bani, Ty Williams, Willie Tonga, John Williams, Grant Rovelli, Johnathan Thurston (capt), Shane Tronc, Aaron Payne, Matthew Scott, Carl Webb, Scott Bolton, Luke O’Donnell. Interchange: Anthony Watts, Steve Southern, Antonio Kaufusi, Steve Rapira, James Tamou, Manase Manuokafoa (two to be omitted).
SHARKS: Nathan Stapleton, Blake Ferguson, Matt Wright, Mitch Brown, Luke Covell (capt), Reece Williams, Scott Porter, Kade Snowden, Corey Hughes, Luke Douglas, Grant Millington, Anthony Tupou, Atelea Vea. Interchange: Bryan Norrie, Johnny Mannah, Ben Pomeroy, Terence Seu Seu.
Referees: Ben Cummins, Brett Suttor

SUNDAY
CANBERRA RAIDERS v GOLD COAST TITANS at Canberra Stadium, 2.00pm
RAIDERS: Josh Dugan, Justin Carney, Jarrod Croker, Joel Monaghan, Phil Graham, Terry Campese, Marc Herbert, David Shillington, Glen Buttriss, Troy Thompson, Tom Learoyd-Lahrs, Bronson Harrison, Alan Tongue (capt). Interchange: Trevor Thurling, Nigel Plum, Josh Miller, Dane Tilse.
TITANS: Preston Campbell, Kevin Gordon, Esi Tonga, Brett Delaney, Chris Walker, Mat Rogers, Scott Prince (capt), Matthew White, Nathan Friend, Michael Henderson, Anthony Laffranchi, Brad Meyers, Daniel Conn. Interchange: Aaron Cannings, Will Matthews, Josh Graham, William Zillman, David Mead (one to be omitted)
Referees: Gavin Badger, Chris James

PENRITH PANTHERS v PARRAMATTA EELS at CUA Stadium, 3.00pm
PANTHERS: Jarrod Sammut, Brad Tighe, Michael Jennings, Gavin Cooper, Junior Tia Kilifi, Wade Graham, Luke Walsh, Frank Puletua, Paul Aiton, Tim Grant, Trent Waterhouse (capt), Frank Pritchard, Nathan Smith. Interchange: Joseph Paulo, Matthew Bell, Joel Romelo, Maurice Blair, Sam McKendry, Andrew Emelio (two to be omitted).
EELS: Jarryd Hayne, Luke Burt, Joel Reddy, Krisnan Inu, Eric Grothe, Daniel Mortimer, Jeff Robson, Nathan Cayless (capt), Matthew Keating, Fuifui Moimoi, Nathan Hindmarsh, Joe Galuvao, Todd Lowrie. Interchange: Kevin Kingston, Jeremy Latimore, Broderick Wright, Tim Mannah
Referees: Jason Robinson, Gerard Sutton

MONDAY
MANLY SEA EAGLES v BULLDOGS at Brookvale Oval, 7.00pm
MANLY: Michael Robertson, Ben Farrar, Jamie Lyon, Steve Matai, David Williams, Chris Bailey, Matt Orford (capt), Brent Kite, Matt Ballin, Josh Perry, Anthony Watmough, Glenn Hall, Glenn Stewart. Interchange: Heath L’Estrange, Jason King, George Rose, Tony Williams, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Adam Cuthbertson (two to be omitted).

BULLDOGS: BULLDOGS: Luke Patten, Hazem El Masri, Josh Morris, Daryl Millard, Bryson Goodwin, Ben Roberts, Brett Kimmorley, Jarrad Hickey, Mick Ennis, Michael Hodgson, Gary Warburton, Andrew Ryan (capt), David Stagg. Interchange: Brad Morrin, Greg Eastwood, Yileen Gordon, Daniel Holdsworth.
Referees: Tony Archer, Jared Maxwell

© AAP 2012

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