He made his NRL debut in 2025.
The St George Illawarra Dragons have pulled off a devastating poaching raid on the Penrith Panthers, first bringing on Conrelius and Alexander Pupualii and now bringing in rising star David Fale.
Making his debut against the Canterbury Bulldogs in Round 26, Fale has shown immense potential and will be hungry to explore it further with the Dragons.
First reported by The Daily Telegraph that he had entered a cooling-off period with the Panthers in September, Fale officially signed the papers to join the Dragons last week.
Confirming that he has signed a two-year deal with the club, Fale spoke to Zero Tackle about the move, as well as giving Dragons fans a glimpse of what’s to come.
“Signed on Tuesday, I’m pretty excited,” Fale said.
When asked what the Dragons have planned for him, he revealed there isn’t too much pressure on him to play NRL straight away; however, that hasn’t stopped him from chasing the goal anyway.
“[The Dragons] want me to come in and fight for that wing spot next year, and obviously just build from there,” he said.
“Hopefully, the year after [in 2027], they want me to be a regular; but for me, I want to [be a regular] next year, and make that wing spot mine.”
Fale was making strides with the Panthers in his time with the club, leading to a much-deserved NRL debut. Despite this, the electric outside back turned to the Dragons for a better opportunity.
“Knowing that I’m not behind all the other Panthers boys [is why I left],” he said.
“[Shane Flanagan] has given me the confidence that I can come in and make either wing spot mine.
“That made me a bit more confident to sign the deal.”
He admitted the move to the Dragons was never in the long-term plans, but thought it was the best decision for his future.
“I asked Penrith for a release, and they were happy [for me to go and seek] better opportunity,” Fale said.
“It’s a two-year deal, and hopefully I can make that wing spot mine, or the centre spot if I can.”
“I prefer centre, but I’ll play whatever it takes to be in the starting 17.”
Speaking about his NRL debut earlier in the season, Fale admitted that it “was a surreal experience” and that he “didn’t think” it would happen so soon, reminiscing on what the week leading up to his inaugural first-grade clash was like.
“The short turnaround helped, having the game on the Thursday and being told on the Tuesday, not having the long week helped me get through it mentally,” Fale said of the build-up.
The Panthers were scrutinised for resting a whopping 16 players that week, which made way for Fale’s debut. The young star assured he didn’t let the noise get to him.
“All the social media stuff [about the Panthers], I didn’t really look into all of that,” he said.
“I just put my phone down and tried to prepare as well as I could.”
He recalled what it was like guarding superstar centre Stephen Crichton, which he admitted was a daunting experience.
“[I was guarding] ‘Critta’ and Connor Tracey,” he said.
“It was nerve-racking going up against him; he was at Penrith, so I got to see a bit of him when I was there.
“I just knew if I prepared well and I backed my training, I knew I would do a good job.
“But yeah, it was nerve-racking, going up against him and seeing him didn’t feel real. I’m still pinching myself.”
The Auckland-born gun went on to reveal a little more about his humble roots, which have helped shape him into the hard-working athlete he is today.
“I started playing footy when I was six, I always knew I wanted to become an NRL player,” he said of his younger days.
“[I made my way] to the Broncos, I don’t think many people know about that… end of 2019, I did a pre-season with some of the young boys like Reece Walsh.”
He revealed that the Broncos even offered him a one-year deal; however, he declined, as he desired a return to New Zealand.
After spending some time back in Auckland, he decided to give rugby league “one more crack,” inking a deal with the Canberra Raiders and moving in with his sister in the nation’s capital.
All it took was one year of rugby league with the Raiders before the Panthers swooped in, starting his Western Sydney tenure with their feeder club, St Mary’s.
“My first year in Sydney Shield, we won it, then won [Ron] Massey the following year,” he said of his early success with the Panthers.
“I got my NSW Cup debut that year as well, and the following two years after that I was pretty much full-time.”
He shared how grateful he is that his family was with him in his return to Australia, admitting he “credits a lot of his achievements to them.”
The new Dragons recruit is eager to get started with his new club and will be pushing hard for his club debut in 2026.
