- 3 months ago
Darren Parkin and Scott Pryde look at the current NRL players on the market and the clubs that they could potentially land in.
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00:00Taking a look at the market, so what's done, what might be done, and what are some of the whispers
00:04as we keep the ear to the ground?
00:07Morgan Gannon, short stay for him, the Brit, who actually shares a birthday with me, strangely enough.
00:13He's winning with the Warriors, but he'll be heading home at the conclusion of this season, Scott.
00:19Revealing too much about yourself there, Darren.
00:22Morgan Gannon heading back to England at the end of the year, was confirmed by the Warriors last week.
00:26It hasn't really worked for him out here, obviously. He came out, picked up a head knock, and that's been
00:31about all there was to it.
00:32He'll see out the season with the Warriors. Hard to see him getting too much more game time.
00:36A bit disappointing, but that's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.
00:39Flicking back the other way, Fasul Malawi back in Australia, left England on compassionate grounds,
00:45but obviously getting ready for his start with the new franchise next year.
00:48Yeah, so Isaac Fasul Malawi, he was obviously with Catalans this year on a one-year deal.
00:54Unfortunately, in tragic circumstances, he's returned to Australia with the passing of his father.
01:00Obviously, we know Tino has delayed going into origin camp this week for the same reasons.
01:05So our thoughts are with the Fasul Malawi family, and he'll obviously see out the year now with the switch
01:11jets before moving to Perth next year.
01:13And a few of the other deals that are done.
01:15Josh Papaliz last year at the Raiders.
01:18Obviously, the Panthers have been able to recommit or have a player recommit.
01:21We know they're expected to lose some going forward, and the Perth Bears have landed another one as well.
01:27Yeah, three big moves to cap off this done deal segment.
01:30Josh Papaliz, Ricky Stewart was asked point blank last week at a media opportunity whether Josh Papaliz would extend for
01:37another year in Canberra,
01:37and the answer was a pretty blunt no.
01:39We did have the same conversation about this time last year before he ultimately stayed for another year in Canberra,
01:46but with so many young forwards down there, it's hard to see that reversing this time.
01:49So, yeah, expect Papaliz to leave the Raiders at the end of the year, whether he plays on or not
01:53up in the air,
01:53but there's been plenty of talk around him moving into some sort of coaching role in Canberra or some ambassador
01:59-type role,
01:59so I expect he might retire at the end of the year.
02:02Yeah, Penrith re-signing Tom Jenkins, a really, really good re-signing for that club.
02:06I think there would have been a few teams interested in him and his try-scoring ability.
02:10Jenkins' story is quite remarkable, really, when you consider he went to Newcastle and then came back to Penrith at
02:16the start of last year
02:17on what was a Ron Massey Cup deal at the time with St. Mary's.
02:20He progressed through their system really, really quickly, got himself back into the NRL,
02:23and obviously while he was sort of in and out of the team during the final series last year,
02:28he started this year like a house on fire, and it's hard to see him not being this year's top
02:32try-scorer at this stage.
02:33The third one you mentioned there, Daz Mason-Barber, he's signed with the Perth Bears, that Cowboys young gun.
02:39Obviously, the Cowboys have got a few guys vying for that full-back role.
02:43Jackson Perdue and Tom Chester are currently in the centres, but expect one of them to replace Scott Drinkwater next
02:48year.
02:49Mason-Barber obviously saw the writing on the wall, and a massive opportunity in Perth, by the way,
02:53who at the moment their closest thing to a full-back was Nick Meaney.
02:56Mason-Barber probably walks into the number one jersey in the West next year.
03:00Take a look at who's on the move, what we anticipate will be happening.
03:05Now, we're going to touch on two here.
03:07Both Kiwis, both playing in Brisbane, albeit for different sides.
03:12Jesse Arthurs and Cody Nicarima, both might be headed to the same competition.
03:17Well, we touched on the Jesse Arthurs situation a fortnight ago.
03:20He was in talks with the Gold Coast Titans, and there was also some talk around Japanese rugby.
03:25That, we believe, is still on the table.
03:27The Titans' talks fell over.
03:28The Titans apparently became quite frustrated with the slow pace of progress from the Arthurs' camp
03:32and their lack of communication, and actually pulled their offer off the table for Jesse Arthurs.
03:37So, it has since emerged that the Super League is probably going to be his new home next year
03:41if he stays in rugby league, and he'll probably kill it over there, no doubt,
03:45despite the fact he's been a bit in and out of the Brisbane side, albeit in at the moment with
03:48so many injuries.
03:49Cody Nicarima is probably the biggest surprise here.
03:52He is obviously probably on the outer at the Dolphins next year.
03:56They've all but signed George Williams.
03:58He's been released in England, George Williams, but not confirmed by the Dolphins yet.
04:01It's a really interesting situation, and we asked the Dolphins about it about a month ago,
04:05and they just said there's nothing official yet.
04:07But take it as done that George Williams will be there next year in the halves alongside Isaiah Katoa.
04:12That does leave Cody Nicarima either looking for a bench utility spot or leaving the club.
04:16There's been some talk around NRL clubs, but Jaden Nicarima, his brother, came out over last week
04:21and basically said there's been some conversations between the two brothers, if you like,
04:25and that Cody is now at shorter odds than he was at the start of the year, for sure, of
04:30joining a Super League club.
04:32Sean Bloor is set to leave Victoria, potentially?
04:35Well, yeah, we've been on this one since probably mid-November.
04:39Sean Bloor apparently is quite homesick down in Melbourne and wants to come back into the Sydney area.
04:44The issue is there's not that many clubs in Sydney who actually want a second rower.
04:47The talk last week was that the St. George Elora Dragons and West Tigers are both interested.
04:52Now, the Tigers are a former club of Sean Bloor.
04:54It would make a lot of sense for him to wind up there, although they do have Samuel Afenu and
04:58Kai Pierce-Pool.
04:59Afenu could potentially move back into the middle to accommodate his signing.
05:03Of course, Bloor is a starting-level player. There's no doubt about that.
05:05The Dragons one, I've struggled to wrap my head around why they'd be interested in Sean Bloor.
05:10If there's one thing the Dragons don't need, it's more forwards.
05:12They've obviously signed Keon Kolomatangi next year in their middle,
05:15but they've got so many young second rowers coming through that system,
05:18led by Dylan Egan, Haynes Stewart, Jacob Halunghu, and Ryan Couchman.
05:22So it's hard to wrap your head around, but apparently the Dragons are interested.
05:26We reached out to the Dragons and didn't receive any response from the club,
05:29so read into that what you will.
05:32Speaking of the Dragons, what does Luciano Le Lua's future look like?
05:37Yeah, well, I mean, in the same vein as why would you sign Sean Bloor,
05:40there's really no point to the Dragons re-signing Luciano Le Lua.
05:43On the first episode of this show, he was in our sign-or-send segment,
05:46and we absolutely categorically said he needs to leave the club if the Dragons are serious.
05:51They've got so many young forwards coming through.
05:53He requested a release last week.
05:55It was apparently knocked back by the Dragons,
05:57but he's off contract at the end of the year,
05:59and you'd have to imagine there's now absolutely no chance of re-signing
06:02beyond the end of this season.
06:03And Freddie Lussick to the Bulldogs potentially,
06:07so another from the Panthers camp?
06:08Yeah, well, I mean, at the start of this year,
06:10you would have said Freddie Lussick was a backup option and very irreplaceable,
06:15but he's become a real cog in that Penrith machine.
06:18With Mitch Kenny's injury, he's really proven his worth,
06:21and I mean, I've always rated Mitch Kenny really showing his potential this year.
06:24I think what it does show that Canterbury are interested in him
06:27is that they've officially given up on their spine,
06:30or at least Bailey Haywood being an 80-minute dummy half option.
06:32I think we all know it hasn't worked this year at Belmore,
06:36both in seven and nine,
06:37and moving for Freddie Lussick certainly indicates now
06:41that Canterbury are on the same page there.
06:44And I think Lussick could be a great pickup.
06:46He's energetic, runs the ball, reads the game well and defends well.
06:49So, yeah, he's the sort of player that could move the needle
06:52a little bit for the Bulldogs next year.
06:54Taking a look at some of the whispers,
06:55one of the loudest whispers is Izzy Folau.
06:58We'll take a look at that in a moment in landing spots
07:00and potential denials and where he might end up.
07:04But a couple of the others that we are hearing,
07:08so Jacob Preston, a bit of a stalemate between he and Canterbury?
07:13Yeah, I don't understand why there's a stalemate here,
07:15because Canterbury should just about be giving Jacob Preston a blank check
07:18and saying, tell us what you want.
07:20Apparently, the two parties are a long way apart on contract value.
07:24The Bulldogs well under what Preston's asking price is.
07:27Preston, I think, at this stage is probably going to hold out
07:29until November 1 and then work out what's what,
07:32because he'll be worth plenty on the open market,
07:34and I'd imagine there'll be a stack of teams interested in his signature.
07:37He's obviously one of the best second rowers in the competition,
07:40and I thought, you know, he was in the origin mix this year as well.
07:46Herbie Farnworth, obviously, future Dolphins are airborne at the moment,
07:51but no guarantee that he'll remain there?
07:53Yeah, well, this one's been one we've been hearing about for a little while,
07:57but the most concrete rumours came sort of last week.
08:01Farnworth, I think he wants to stay in Redcliffe.
08:04You know, that is the talk at least,
08:07but he's going to get some big offers if he arrives at November 1 without a deal.
08:10He's such a good centre, probably the best in the game for mine,
08:14and it would be...
08:16The Dolphins are going to struggle to hang on to him.
08:19Yeah, there is that significant challenge,
08:22a guy in the middle stages of his career,
08:24a lot of, obviously, Kiwi-borns that we've spoken about,
08:26but Hayes Perham to re-sign with the Broncos and remain in Queensland?
08:31Yeah, well, we've already talked about the Broncos a little bit
08:33with, obviously, Jesse Arthurs heading to the Super League,
08:36the talk is Gemma Shibasaki will not re-sign either
08:38because he's just going to be too much money for what the Broncos have.
08:41It does leave the Broncos a little bit short
08:43in the outside-back department this year,
08:45next year, I should say,
08:46and the talk is that Hayes Perham will re-sign on the one-year deal
08:49just to add a bit of depth and a bit of experience to that roster there.
08:53Cam Munster, we always knew that the Melbourne Storm
08:55were going to, obviously, face some challenges with expansion clubs,
08:57and if the era came to an end,
08:59I know they're obviously going down swinging at the moment
09:01in terms of fighting back into some sort of form,
09:04but they're trying to retain him in terms of future options.
09:09Munster's been one whose name has just been,
09:12you know, it's barely been out of the rumour mill
09:14for the last three or four years,
09:15ever since the Dolphins were preparing to play, really.
09:17The Dolphins made an offer for him,
09:18the Perth Bears made an offer for him.
09:20There's been talk around rugby, rugby 360,
09:23talk around the PNG Chiefs.
09:25Yeah, he's been linked here, there, and everywhere.
09:27What has become apparent, though,
09:29is that he's more likely to finish a one-club player now.
09:32When the Melbourne Storm released Jonah Pezet last year,
09:34they said that an early release wasn't going to be happening.
09:37Obviously, Munster is off contract at the end of next year
09:39and could negotiate from November 1,
09:41but Matt Tripp came out over the weekend
09:43and basically said, if Munster wants to play on,
09:45we're going to try and make it here.
09:47So, no surprise there, really.
09:48But, yeah, Munster probably to finish in Melbourne,
09:51we would assume.
09:51I know we'll take a look at the state of play with Brisbane,
09:53but they are obviously a busy side.
09:55Billy Walters' future, anything there?
09:58Yeah, well, he came out and said that negotiations are underway,
10:01but he's really unclear on whether he'll stay in Brisbane
10:03for the moment.
10:05The Brisbane hooking situation is one we're going to look at
10:07in depth later, so I don't want to touch on it too much right now.
10:09But it's clear they have too much depth in the number nine area.
10:13Billy Walters is the last, well, along with Ben Hunt,
10:16is the last one to re-sign.
10:17I think there will be some clubs interested
10:19because there are some clubs without a first-choice dummy half next year,
10:22and I can certainly see him leaving.
10:24Dragons have already signed a few for the future,
10:26but some speculation that they might have a couple to pass?
10:30Yeah, well, Prop Omre Goula is off contract at the end of this year
10:33and has now been linked with the English Super League.
10:36Hard to see him remaining in the NRL, to be perfectly honest.
10:39His performances haven't been up to scratch this year.
10:41Moses Surley has another year to run on his deal,
10:44but has been told by the Dragons in no uncertain terms
10:46that he won't be re-signed to be on the end of that
10:48and has permission to negotiate his future elsewhere immediately.
10:51The talk was that a couple of clubs he's already been shocked
10:54to have actually knocked him back,
10:55but it would actually be, I think, at this stage,
10:57a surprise to see Moses Surley running out in red and white next year.
11:01And whispers around someone on Manley's radar?
11:05Yeah, well, this actually came as a bit of a surprise as well,
11:08to be perfectly honest with you, Daz,
11:09because Manley have a number of young outside backs at that club
11:13pushing for minutes next year, led by Clayton Falallo,
11:15who's been a revelation in the last couple of weeks,
11:18replacing Tom Trebrojevic at fullback there on the Northern Beaches.
11:21But with Ruben Garrick leaving, they do want some experience
11:23and do want some starch into those outside backs.
11:25And the talk is they are close to a deal
11:27with Stafford Toa from the West Tigers.
11:29We'll see you next time.
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