The Mole: Dragons take leap of faith into rugby league late bloomer with new deal

A former AFL prodigy who has only been playing league for three years has won a NSW Cup contract with the Dragons.

Local Kiama junior Kye Andrews - who scored four tries in his Jersey Flegg debut in August - is the talk of the Dragons after making the massive jump to NSW Cup in 2026.

After playing all his junior footy in AFL, the 21-year-old made the switch to league in his late teens and began this year in the Dragons' SG Ball side.

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Blessed with speed and size, he was soon elevated to the Jersey Flegg Cup, where he began with his quartet of tries against a strong Penrith side late in the season.

Andrews lives and breathes rugby league - when he is not playing and training he works as a coach for Elite Rugby League Pathways, a program set up by his parents.

With the Dragons short on genuine pace in the outside backs, he could well find himself in first grade sooner rather than later.

"Kye's done a great job to get this far with only three years of league to his name," a Dragons insider told Wide World of Sports.

"He is definitely one to watch."