Brendan Hands has secured a release from the final year of his contract with NRL outfit Parramatta Eels and signed on the dotted line with Toulouse Olympique for 2026 following their promotion to Super League.
Hooker Hands spent the back end of the 2025 Championship campaign with Toulouse having arrived on loan at the back end of July and made his debut off the bench in a 24-18 victory over London Broncos on August 10.
The New South Wales native scored two tries in eight games overall for Olympique before the end of the season, starting in each of the seven games after his debut and helping them to a Grand Final triumph away at York earlier this month.
After the French club saw their return to a newly-expanded 14-team Super League confirmed via an independent panel chaired by Lord Caine last week, he has now opted to remain at the Stade Ernest-Wallon permanently, inking a one-year deal.
Hooker secures NRL release as permanent Toulouse Olympique stay confirmed
Set to turn 27 in February just before the start of the new Super League season, Hands played 40 NRL games in total for Parramatta having made his first-grade bow back in 2023.
After making his move to Toulouse a permanent one, he said: “I am delighted to commit for one more year with Toulouse.
“I’m ready to give the best of myself in the Super League!”
Hands also represented Penrith Panthers at second-grade level Down Under in the New South Wales Cup, and joined Olympique having played two games in the NRL in the first half of the year.
Head coach Sylvain Houles added: “We’re very happy that Brendan is extending with us.
“As soon as he arrived, he immediately showed us all his qualities in this position as a hooker.
“He brought us a certain stability, serenity in our game both in attack and defence.”
