Alex Johnston has officially signed with the PNG Chiefs on a one-year deal.
The Papua New Guinea and Torres Strait Islander man is the incoming NRL club's second official signing, after their huge coup in signing Jarome Luai last week.
Johnston will run out as an inaugural player for Chiefs in their first season in 2028 after completing his current contract at South Sydney.
Signing the NRL's all-time leading try scorer is a huge move for the PNG-based team, with Johnston already a familiar face in the rugby league-mad nation.
The 31-year-old has represented the country in the Kumuls' jumper on 12 occasions since 2019.
Rumours broke of the winger's future move last week, though unconfirmed, before Luai put pen-to-paper to become Chief number one.
The news was confirmed on Wednesday afternoon, with the Chiefs forecasting 'AJ' as the first of many Papua New Guineans to join the club.
"This is exactly what we promised — to build a team that the people of PNG can be proud of and one that can compete with the best from day one," PNG Chiefs chief executive Lorna McPherson said.
"Alex is a record holder, we've seen what he can achieve, and everyone knows that he is a proven performer, but just as importantly he's a great person who represents the values of our club. Alex has been a tremendous ambassador for the game and the perfect ambassador for PNG, so bringing Alex home to the Chiefs feels right.
"We now have players 001 and 002 locked in, and we're only getting started. There's real belief and excitement building around what we're creating."
As well as the game's greatest try scorer, Johnston is an "icon" in PNG, Chiefs general manager of football Michael Chammas said.
"A player who has represented his country with pride on the international stage and carried the hopes of the PNG people throughout a remarkable career," he said.
"And now he is coming home. He is the first Papua New Guinean player to sign with the PNG Chiefs. The first of many."
Pressed on the opportunity to be an inaugural PNG player in recent months, Johnston had shown interest in a PNG homecoming.
While maintaining his commitment to the Bunnies, he'd openly spoken about the potential of exploring his options.
Speaking on former NRL player Josh Mansour's Unscripted podcast, released late March, Johnston said he wouldn't want to play for another current NRL club outside of Souths, however "fate" was playing its role.
"I feel like I have that sense of belonging and connection with Papua New Guinea, and it just happens to be when I'm off contract with Souths that PNG, this NRL team is going to come in. It's almost...like fate, like the footy gods have written this sort of thing," he said.
Johnston has made 251 NRL appearances, all for Souths, since his debut in 2014.
He's a premiership player at the Bunnies and earlier in 2026 broke Ken Irvine's long-standing record as the greatest try scorer in the history of the Australian premiership.
The Rabbitohs will part ways gratefully with one of their club greats.
"We have all enjoyed the efforts from 'AJ' over the past 13 seasons and I'm sure we will see more highlights before he heads to the Chiefs in 2028," South Sydney chief executive Blake Solly said in a statement on Tuesday.
"He is the greatest try scorer the game has ever seen and he will score more tries in the red and green before the end of next season.
"Alex has a wonderful opportunity to extend his NRL career and to set himself up for life-after-football with his new club.
"We look forward to continuing our work with him for the next 18 months, and we will wish him, his partner Taryn and his kids Sonny, Avery and Robby the very best of luck at the end of his time at our Club."
