Joey's 'club-hopper' worry as 16 rivals snub Schuster

Manly coach Anthony Seibold has revealed the club’s decision to grant Josh Schuster permission to talk to rival clubs is down to performance as Andrew Johns declares his future is in the halves.

Schuster has been given two weeks personal leave by the Sea Eagles after the club’s decision, however it appears there’s not much appetite to sign him.

Reports suggest all 16 clubs apart from Manly have been canvassed and none have expressed interest in the young gun, with Schuster’s controversial $800,000-a-season, three-year deal due to begin next year at Manly.

Speaking ahead of the Sea Eagles’ clash with the Warriors in New Zealand, Seibold confirmed why a decision around Schuster had been made.

Josh Schuster is set to leave the Sea Eagles.

“Ultimately it’s a decision based around performance, but I care for Josh and I just think that there’s another opportunity for Josh to reset and go again,” he said.

“There’s an opportunity for him to pause for the next weeks and take a breath and we’ll work in the background to make sure things get sorted for both parties.”

Schuster has appeared in four matches for Blacktown in NSW Cup after losing his five-eighth position to Luke Brooks and then his spot in the second-row to Ben Trbojevic.

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The Samoa representative has been shifted around, playing his first lower grade match at second-row before featuring at lock for three games.

Johns believes the 22-year-old’s future doesn’t lie in the forwards.

“Five-eighth (is his best position), I don’t think he’s got the fitness to play in the back row or lock, there’s no chance him playing in the middle of the field,” he said on Wide World of Sports’ Immortal Behaviour.

“Five-eighth’s his spot, predominantly a left-side player.”

The Immortal went on to point to the Dragons and Titans as potential landing spots for Schuster.

“The Dragons need some flair in the halves, the other one is obviously the Titans, link back up with Des,” he said.

Schuster’s potential release comes after a troubled off-season for the talented prodigy which included chicken pox, finger surgery and a calf strain.

The 22-year-old also had to relive the traumatic death of his best friend Keith Titmuss during the inquest into his death after a 2020 Manly training session.

Throughout his career, fitness has been the biggest problem for Schuster and Johns believes that’s the key area he needs to address.

“Everyone knows Josh’s Achilles heel is his fitness and his weight so it was always going to be up to Josh to get rock hard fit and for a while there he lost some weight,” he said.

“I think at one stage he lost 14 kilos but it cannot be driven by the trainer. The trainer can’t be there 24/7, that’s where the player’s got to take some ownership and if you’re getting paid big money from a club, there’s a price to pay and you have to pay that price every day.

“When you go to training, you’ve got to drive the standards and you’ve got to be in there so the young players are seeing what you’re doing and how you’re preparing and how you’re getting yourself rock hard fit and it’s up to Josh. I’d just hate to see him with that talent, waste that talent. Everyone can see the talent.”

Johns added he wasn’t surprised when Manly signed Schuster to a big money deal, due to the undeniable potential he possesses.

“Everyone can see he has the potential to be in the top five players in the game if he got rock hard fit and played at 100-105 kilos because he’s a big body so they signed him on potential,” he said.

“I think everyone in the game would love to see him fulfil that potential because I’d hate to see him become a club-hopper where clubs buy him and think they’ll get the best out of him and he just goes from club to club and then he’s got to live with that regret the rest of his life. I wish him well.”