Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Olympics
Football
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
📻 How to tune into Sport Nation
Who will be the best signing of 2026?
Sam Kosack • January 26th, 2026 9:10 pm
The 2026 season will see many fan-favourite players swap their iconic colours for a new team’s jersey, whether it be for a better opportunity, more money, or the lure of a premiership.
This off-season has seen some of the biggest and most expensive signings in NRL history that is guaranteed to create iconic rivalries or add extra heat to some of the game’s biggest.
We asked you who will be the best signing of 2026, and the results are in!
The clear favourite for signing of the year is Jonah Pezet, the Eels’ five-eighth who arrives under unique circumstances.
Pezet signed a one-year deal with the Eels, before he will link up with the Brisbane Broncos in 2027.
At 23.5 per cent of the vote, fans are expecting Pezet’s partnership with Mitchell Moses to be enough to return the Eels to finals football and potentially break their long-running premiership drought.
New Rabbitohs’ addition David Fifita came in second with 13.6 per cent of the vote as looks to resurrect his career after a dour end to his time at the Titans.
At his damaging best, Fifita is a lock for Origin and international representative sides, and the Rabbitohs will be hoping the coaching of Wayne Bennett, and combinations with Cody Walker, Latrell Mitchell, and Cameron Murray, can help him back to his best.
Daly Cherry-Evans left the Sea Eagles for the Roosters after 15 years at the club in one of the most surprising transfer moves of last season.
He comes in third with 11.4 per cent of the vote, closely followed by NSW hooker and new teammate Reece Robson, 10.6 per cent, who’s made the shift back to his home state after a successful stint at the Cowboys.
Replacing Robson at the Cowboys, Reed Mahoney comes in fifth with 6.8 per cent of the vote, tied with Dylan Brown, becoming one of the NRL’s highest paid players and the Knights’ biggest recruit in club history after signing a mammoth 10-year contract.
Former Broncos’ winger Selwyn Cobbo, 6.1 per cent, joins cross-town rivals The Dolphins after falling out of favour with Michael Maguire, while new Bulldogs enforcer Leo Thompson, 5.3 per cent, will bring a fearsome and aggressive edge to the Canterbury pack as its new leader.
Rounding out the top nine, Jamal Fogarty is trying to carve his own legacy at the Sea Eagles and dodge the shadow of DCE, with 4.5 percent of fans expecting him to be the game’s best signing.
See the full list below:
- Jonah Pezet (Eels) - 23.4%
- David Fifita (Rabbitohs) - 13.6%
- Daly Cherry-Evans (Roosters) - 11.4%
- Reece Robson (Roosters) - 10.6%
- Reed Mahoney (Cowboys) - 6.8%
- Dylan Brown (Knights) - 6.8%
- Selwyn Cobbo (Dolphins) - 6.1%
- Leo Thompson (Bulldogs) - 5.3%
- Jamal Fogarty (Sea Eagles) - 4.5%
- Alofiana Khan-Pereira (Warriors) - 3.8%
- Daniel Atkinson (Dragons) - 3%
