Parramatta have confirmed the signing of Manly and NSW winger Will Hopoate.
Eels Chief Executive Paul Osborne announced on Thursday that the NRL club secured Hopoate's services from the start of the 2014 season after the 19-year-old completes a two-year Mormon mission.
Osborne said the signing of Hopoate, who playeda starring roll in the Sea Eagles Premiership win on Sunday was a huge coup for the club.
"A player of Will's calibre coming to the club is a tremendous endorsement of where we're heading,'' Osborne said.
Osborne revealed that the Eels training staff have researched the effects that two years out of the game can have on players, and claims the signing is a calculative gamble.
"We have researched cases in the United States where there is a lot more Mormon athletes who take time off and the success rate upon return is very high,' he said.
"A player of Will's calibre will probably come back better than he is at the moment.''
