Schuster on personal leave from Manly as NRL rivals shy away

Josh Schuster, who didn’t travel to New Zealand with his Manly teammates on Thursday after the club granted the playmaker two weeks of personal leave, may face a tough road finding his next NRL club.

Schuster, who on Wednesday was given permission to negotiate with rivals despite being contracted until the end of 2027, was originally named at lock for Sea Eagles feeder club Blacktown’s clash with the Warriors in Auckland on Saturday.

However, the enigmatic playmaker has been given a fortnight to attend to personal matters and digest that he does not have a long-term future on the northern beaches.

The sabbatical will shield Schuster from the spotlight while his manager attempts to find a new club.

That could prove difficult with representatives from all 16 rival NRL clubs taking less than three hours to inform this masthead on Thursday they weren’t interested in the Samoan international.

St George Illawarra were the first club to rule themselves out. Wests Tigers, who were linked to Schuster last year – mainly via former recruitment manager Scott Fulton – also made it clear they had no appetite.

Coach Benji Marshall famously declared after watching Schuster make his NRL debut against them: “That’s the best debut I’ve seen from a young kid in my time. Ever.”

But when asked about having an interest in Schuster now, Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson told this masthead: “There’s none, zero, zip. Nothing.

“He was never linked to this club during my time. I’ve never spoken to his manager, I’ve never spoken to him, and I’ve got no intention to.”

Storm coach Craig Bellamy, who already has Cameron Munster as his No. 6, and Sua Fa’alogo as his back-up five-eighth, said of Schuster: “He hasn’t been mentioned in our retention committee or whatever it’s called – they haven’t spoken about him.”

Josh Schuster is on leave from the Sea Eagles.

Some club representatives told this masthead they were unsure if Schuster considered himself a back-rower or five-eighth, while other officials were curious to know how much money Manly were prepared to contribute towards any deal.

Schuster signed a three-year, $2.4 million contract extension last June, a deal which doesn’t even begin until 2025.

Any new deal will require a subsidy from the Sea Eagles, given that Schuster remains contracted.

Sources with knowledge of the contract situation, but not authorised to speak publicly on the matter, confirmed the Sea Eagles had inserted several performance clauses into the Schuster deal, which they believe will safeguard the club from having to pay the 22-year-old his entire deal.

Schuster was publicly challenged by skipper Daly Cherry-Evans last year to work hard and regain his position in the top team.

Meanwhile, Marshall was happy to talk up another junior who was bound to get a taste of first grade at some stage this season, and “had a right-foot step to die for”.

Thirlmere and Wests junior Heath Mason plays fullback and in the halves, represented the Australian Schoolboys team with fellow Tiger Lachlan Galvin last year, and impressed in the NSW Cup until he fractured his wrist.

Despite Jahream Bula being the club’s long-term fullback, and Galvin the starting No. 6, Mason had utility value, said Marshall.

“We love Heath for a couple of reasons, he goes 100 miles per hour with everything he does,” Marshall said.

“He’s very committed to training. He was only on a train and trial, but we loved his attitude throughout the pre-season, especially when it came to the tackling department.

“He’s not a big guy, but he has a right-foot step to die for, and he’s very dangerous.”

The Tigers, who officially launched their first office in Campbelltown on Thursday, sold out their corporate hospitality for Sunday’s game more than three weeks ago, while a crowd of around 15,000 is expected for the showdown against St George Illawarra.

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