League: NRL team spends $1.3 million on untested 18 year old

Moses Suli could soon be joining the Wests Tigers in first grade. Photo / Getty

Moses Suli hasn't finished an under-20s match for the club, but the young Wests Tigers centre is believed to have signed the most lucrative NRL deal for a player yet to appear in first grade.

The Tigers confirmed on Sunday that Suli, 18, signed a three-year extension to keep him at the joint venture until the end of the 2020 NRL season.

It's believed the deal is worth up to $1.3 million, as the club was forced to fight off interest from a number of rivals.

Suli, who scored tries in each of his NYC matches against Canberra and Melbourne last year, has spent the summer training with the NRL squad where he has impressed coach Jason Taylor.

"We realised that he's got something special in how he handled that experience," Taylor said.

"We're looking forward to having him in and around our NRL group over the next few years, because we know that everything he gains there will only help him further."

An under-16 NSW Origin representative, Suli is 106kg and can play centre or wing.

However since becoming eligible for under-20s last June, he has been struck down by back injuries.

"I'm hoping to have a crack at first-grade as soon as possible," Suli said.

"I only played a few games last year and then got injured, but I'm back in training now and it's been great to be out there with the senior guys in training."

Suli's deal is believed to be worth more than the reported $900,000 offered to David Klemmer to stay at Canterbury days before he made his NRL debut in 2013.

- AAP