Eels coach Brad Arthur is confident he’ll retain Dylan Brown despite the face the five-eighth is set to test his value on the open market.
Brown is off contract at the end of next season which means he can start negotiating with rival clubs for 2024 from November.
Arthur admits the Kiwi star will likely have to take unders to stay but believes the relationship they’ve built will keep him at Parramatta.
“Dylan Brown will stay in my opinion,” Arthur told the Daily Telegraph.
“The good thing is he wants to stay, which is half the battle, and then you have to massage the situation in negotiations.
“We may not be able to compete with the money out there, but if we can table a deal that is competitive I’m sure Dylan will stay.
“I have a good relationship with Dylan and he loves the club.”
Brown will start for the Eels in the grand final against Penrith on Sunday and his manager said his client is happy at the club.
“There’s no doubt Dylan’s happy at Parra,” Chris Orr said.
“He has a great relationship with everyone there and it would take a massive deal to pull him out.
“The reality is Dylan’s a different individual, he walks to the beat of his own drum.
“He’s a free spirit, and if I go to the open market he’d have a stack of clubs chasing him. I’ve had a few calls, but I’ve respected Dylan’s request not to worry about contracts until this season is out of the way.
“Dylan wants to park the contract issue and pick it up again when his football commitments end.”
TIGERS BREATHE EASY
Tigers fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Eels coach Brad Arthur has confirmed that star forward Isaiah Papali’i will honour his deal and link up with the Tigers next season.
It means Sunday’s grand final will be the 24-year-old’s final one in the blue and gold before making the move, hoping to go out a premiership winner.
“Isaiah will be going to the Tigers,” Arthur told News Corp.
“He would have liked to have stayed but he has made his decision and he has too much integrity as a person to renege on his Tigers deal.
“He has made his commitment to them so that boat (Papali’i staying at Parramatta) has sailed.
“He is going and I wish him well.”
NRL 360 co-host Paul Kent had revealed earlier in the week that the Tigers were willing to hold firm and play Papali’i in reserve grade if he tried to backflip.
“I spoke to Justin Pascoe and said what happens if Papali’i says ‘I’ll stay at Parramatta’ and he said ‘he can sit out three seasons.’ It was as simple as that,” Kent said.
He said under no circumstances are they going to release him to stay at Parramatta and if it gets to the point where he basically tries to take theplsm on and stay at the Eels, they just said he can sit it out.”
Speaking to News Corp on Monday at Parramatta’s media day, Papali’i had said he would make a call on his future after the grand final.
“(Waiting to make a call) has worked for us. I’m definitely going to have to stick that,” Papali’i said.
“We are just focused on this year. I don’t want to be worrying about that in the biggest week of my career to date.
“But as soon as Sunday rolls over, I’m sure me and my agent will touch base as soon we can. So we can stop all the questions.”
DRAGONS BOLSTERED BY HUNT NEWS
The Dragons have been handed a huge boost with halfback Ben Hunt expected to re-sign with the club for a further two years on a $1.8 million deal.
That is according to The Courier Mail’s Peter Badel, who broke the news on Friday afternoon, reporting the Red V are poised to beat out the Bulldogs and Titans in the race for Hunt’s signature.
It comes after reports on Dally M night that Hunt’s management had rejected the Dragons’ initial offer, casting even more doubt over his future at the club.
“There were further talks today and Ben Hunt has rejected their latest offer, that is not saying he is going to November 1, that is not saying it is dead,” veteran rugby league reporter Brent Read said on ‘NRL 360’ on Wednesday.
“It is just saying their latest offer hasn’t been good enough to get the deal across the line, so they need to sharpen their pencil a bit the Dragons.
“Initially the sticking point was they made him an offer, but you have to put in those ratchet clauses they put in deals now right, it wasn’t what they wanted.
“They took the ratchet clauses out and upped the offer, and I am not sure what the sticking point is now.”
Hunt had told reporters on the red carpet at the Dally M awards that he was “getting very close” to signing an extension with the Dragons despite knocking back the initial deal.
“We’ve got a number and we’re getting there, but it’s going to take a bit of time,” Hunt said, per AAP.
“We’re getting close. We are very close.
“Both parties want to get it sorted out before the World Cup. I’m sure we’ll get it done this week.”
TIGERS’ $350K BATEMAN CALL
In other news, it looks like the Tigers have made a decision on their pursuit of former Raiders second rower John Bateman.
This year’s wooden spooners were eyeing a move for Bateman but have pulled out according to The Daily Telegraph, refusing to pay Wigan the $350,000 transfer fee it is after.
Fox League’s James Hooper reported back in August that the Tigers had made an inquiry about bringing the 2019 Dally M Backrower of the Year back to the NRL next year.
It was a move unrelated to Isaiah Papali’i having second thoughts about switching from Parramatta to Concord, with Tigers director of football Tim Sheens confirming the approach.
As Hooper reported at the time though, Wigan refused to release Bateman without the Tigers paying a transfer fee given he was under contract until at least the end of 2024.
BRONCOS SIGN SON OF A GUN ON TRAINING DEAL
Elsewhere, Brisbane has continued its roster turnover ahead of the 2023 season, signing a young gun with plenty of promise — and a famous last name.
Wynnum Manly utility Max Plath has reportedly signed on with the club on a short-term deal that sees him training at Red Hill for 12 weeks during the pre-season, per The Courier Mail.
The agreement also sees him spend time with the side during the State of Origin period.
Max is the son of Broncos legend John Plath, who played 149 games for the Broncos but now the 20-year-old is starting to forge his own path.
“Max is a lovely kid with a great attitude and we want to give him an opportunity,” Broncos academy and recruitment boss Simon Scanlan told The Courier Mail.
“We had him in our junior development squad several years ago. He didn’t graduate to the Broncos academy but he’s continued to work and is one of those kids who’ll be a late developer.
“He’s worked his way through (the grades) with Wynnum Manly and played some Queensland Cup this year.
“His preferred role is five-eighth but he has some of his Dad in him, we he can play multiple positions. He can be a very good utility.
“He’s well put together, he has a really good training ethic, so he’ll give himself every chance of playing NRL.”
DOLPHINS FIRMING FOR COWBOYS GUN
The Dolphins are reportedly leading the race to sign Cowboys and Maroons speedster Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow.
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow Origin last year but struggled to cement his starting spot in club land this season.
The 21-year-old started the season as North Queensland’s fullback but Scott Drinkwater then made the position his own.
Drinkwater has since re-signed until the end of 2027 and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow will have to move elsewhere to wear a No. 1 jersey.
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow is contracted until the end of next season but the Cowboys have allowed him to explore his options for next season.
Enter Wayne Bennett.
The Dolphins coach has already signed former Broncos fullback Jamayne Isaako but he by no means has a mortgage on the No. 1 jumper.
Bennett is in the market for a star fullback after missing out on Reece Walsh and more recently Dragons young gun Tyrell Sloan.
The Dolphins are leading the way to sign Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, who has played 50 NRL games for the Cowboys, according to The Daily Telegraph.
NORTH QUEENSLAND VETERAN COMING HOME
Tigers veteran James Tamou is reportedly set for a return to the Cowboys, six seasons after departing Townsville in 2016.
The 33-year-old has reportedly been in contact with North Queensland powerbrokers according to The Daily Telegraph.
Cowboys coach Todd Payten held a meeting with the former Panther while in Sydney for Wednesday night’s Dally M Medal, where he won Coach of the Year.
Payten was said to have told the prop he wants him in his squad next season.
Tamou looks set to snub interest from the English Super League and a return to the club he made his debut at is reportedly firming.
Wakefield Trinity were one of the clubs interested in the 305-gamer, but Tamou and his family are keen to remain in Australia.
Tamou’s role at the club would be to mentor younger forwards after a stint with the Tigers.
If he is to sign with the Cowboys, reports suggest he would take a significant pay-cut, but the big man wants to play one more season in the NRL.
Last season, during the Tigers’ 72-6 demolition at the hands of the Roosters there were fears the veteran had played his last game.
Tamou was hit with a grade three contrary conduct charge for saying “f***ing incompetent you are” to referee Ben Cummins in the final two minutes of the clash.
The veteran prop was initially sin-binned in the dying minutes for saying “f**k off” but after his second outburst “incompetent” Cummins upgraded the binning to a send off.
The grade three charge carried a two-week suspension but fronted the judiciary and successfully had his ban downgraded to just one game.
