Newcastle have found their Tamika Upton replacement, with Wests Tigers star Botille Vette-Welsh set to join the club for the next three NRLW seasons.
Just two weeks after agreeing to release the game's best player in Upton, the Knights have landed the best off-contract fullback on the market in Vette-Welsh.
Newcastle could not confirm the contract when contacted, but AAP can reveal former NSW and Australia No.1 Vette-Welsh will join for the start of the 2025 season.
The deal is viewed as a win for both the 28-year-old and the Knights, whose defence of back-to-back premierships ended in the semi-finals this year.
At her best, Vette-Welsh is one of the premier fullbacks in the women's game, having previously played for NSW and Australia.
She was also one of the Tigers' first signings on entry to the NRLW in 2023 and an inaugural co-captain, making a successful return from an ACL rupture.
Vette-Welsh scored two tries and set up another two as the Tigers collected this year's wooden spoon, but she will give the Knights much-needed strike at the back.
Her move will also ensure Newcastle have one of the NRLW's best spines, with Vette-Welsh joining English international Georgia Roache, rising star Jesse Southwell and Jillaroos hooker Olivia Higgins.
Upton's exit from Newcastle was always likely to have wide-reaching ramifications across the NRLW.
The Jillaroos fullback won three premierships at Brisbane between 2018 and 2020, before moving to Newcastle in 2022 and winning a further two titles there.
But she requested a release from the Knights on personal grounds this season, desperate to return home to Queensland and closer to family.
Upton signed a three-year deal to return to the Broncos this week, after a year that has included the loss of her grandfather and health issues for her grandmother.
"I loved Newcastle and that was it for me. I was quite happy. Then my personal and family circumstances changed, which changed the ballpark," Upton told AAP this week.
"Football was no longer the priority of mine. Getting back home was. And it was too hard to be able to do my football with everything going on at home.
"My family never put pressure on me, they always want me to chase my dreams. But you don't get a second chance to spend time with your family."
Meanwhile, Vette-Welsh's move means the Tigers are now another club in search of a fullback after losing one of their biggest names.
Canberra are also in the market for a No.1 after losing Apii Nicholls, who will return to the Warriors in 2025 in their comeback to the competition.
Canterbury are also yet to land a specialist fullback on their entry to the NRLW next year.
