Wests Tigers emerge as frontrunners for Turuva’s services

The Wests Tigers have emerged as frontrunners for the services of Panthers winger Sunia Turuva, sneaking under the guard of St George Illawarra to sit in pole position to sign the Fijian international.

Turuva is close to an announcement on his future and the Tigers have emerged as the likely option if he decides to leave the Panthers at the end of the season.

Turuva is first cousins with Tigers captain Api Koroisau and also has a strong relationship with incoming recruit Jarome Luai.

It’s believed the Tigers have offered Turuva a multi-year deal worth about $450,000 a year.

The Dragons’ offer is worth between $400,000 and $600,000 per season, with position incentives built into the contract. He stands to earn up to $600,000 if he becomes the Dragons’ regular fullback.

Panthers officials held a meeting with Turuva’s management last week, with a decision expected on his future next week. Penrith are unwilling to spend more than $350,000 to keep Turuva at the club considering the depth in the outside backs they have coming through their junior system.

South Sydney ready for Storm

South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou is in little doubt about the performance his team needs to put up a fight against Melbourne on Anzac Day.

The Rabbitohs have lost all 18 of their past games in the Victorian capital, and have the second-worst defensive record in the competition, but Demetriou said they could go toe-to-toe with Craig Bellamy’s Storm team – if they’re at their best.

“They [Storm] don’t beat themselves, they’re a very well coached team. They’ve got some mainstays, especially in their leadership group, and outstanding hooker, half and five-eighth and they’ve got a forward pack that works hard for each other,” he said.

“They’re a good footy side, but so are we. We’ll go down there with the confidence and the mindset of getting the job done, and we’ll go to war.”

South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou.

Demetriou said the next five weeks, where the Rabbitohs will play the Storm, Panthers, Dragons, Cowboys and Eels before their next bye, were crucial for South Sydney, who are 1-5 to start the season.

“It’s huge,” he said. “We’re not where we want to be, but there’s a process on how we’re going to get back there, and this next five weeks allows us to simplify our focus and have some real key areas at the end of the five weeks where we want to show huge improvements.”

Forward Jai Arrow returns from a shoulder injury to give the team some much-needed injection in the forward pack, and veteran hooker Damien Cook has been recalled to the team after being dropped to reserve grade in round six. Cook was vocal about how angry he was at being axed, but Demetriou said that was the reality of a first grade team.

“Seventeen lokes get picked every week. So there are 36 players in a squad, and with a few injuries there are 15 blokes that aren’t getting picked every week,” he said.

Damien Cook will return to South Sydney’s NRL team.

“So you want to feel hurt, you should be hurt if you’re not getting picked. It’s no different to Tallis Duncan and Sean Keppie at the moment. They’re feeling the same, but they’ve got to fight their way back in, and Cookie’s an experienced player, we need him at his best.”

Young fullback Jye Gray gets another crack while Latrell Mitchell is still suspended, but Demetriou wouldn’t be drawn on whether there would be a place for both players in his team once Mitchell’s suspension was up.

“I’m not looking any further than tomorrow night,” he said.

“After that, we’ll see where we go.”

Eels hand young half NRL debut, Cleary returns from injury

Parramatta are set to hand young playmaker Ethan Sanders his NRL debut on Friday night when the Eels take on Manly at 4 Pines Park.

Sanders will play in the halves alongside Dylan Brown following a disastrous 44-16 defeat to the Dolphins in Darwin last Friday.

Skipper Clint Gutherson said Sanders had learned his craft from one of the best – injured halfback Mitchell Moses, who is due to return from a broken foot in round 12.

“Eth trained out there today. We were just running low numbers, so he was out there running around with the main squad,” Gutherson said.

“He’s been great. Obviously, he’s a young kid coming through the system, just doing what halves do, which is controlling and learning … I’m sure he’ll do a good job for us.”

Nathan Cleary finally makes his return for the Panthers this week after picking up a hamstring injury in round three, while Dylan Edwards has been named at fullback despite coming off early in Penrith’s win over the Tigers last week with a suspected leg injury.

The Roosters also get a boost in the halves for their Anzac Day clash with the Dragons, with Sam Walker returning from a concussion sustained in round five. He joins star winger Dominic Young who returns after serving a two-game suspension for a high tackle on Blake Taaffe.

Zac Lomax retains his spot in the centres for the Dragons for the Anzac Day game at Allianz, with Jack Bird named in the reserves.

Adam Reynolds returns from injury for the Broncos.

Broncos coach Kevin Walters has four big inclusions for their game against the Tigers in Campbelltown, with veteran half Adam Reynolds returning from injury along with Payne Haas, Deine Mariner and Brendan Piakura. But the team will have to go without injured playmaker Ezra Mam (finger) and centre Selwyn Cobbo (shoulder).

Jye Gray gets another crack at fullback for South Sydney with Latrell Mitchell still suspended, and Damien Cook returns after being dumped to the NSW Cup in round six. Forward Jai Arrow will play for the first time since round one in Las Vegas, where he picked up a shoulder injury in the Rabbitohs’ loss to the Sea Eagles.

Elsewhere, Cronulla have named Daniel Atkinson in the halves with Nicho Hynes after Braydon Trindall was charged with mid-range drink-driving, Kaeo Weekes will play five-eighth for Canberra after Jamal Fogarty was sidelined with a bicep injury, and young fullback David Armstrong will make his NRL debut for Newcastle to replace an injured Kalyn Ponga.

Schuster, Manly agree to million-dollar termination

Josh Schuster has officially parted company with Manly after the club agreed to a mutual termination payment worth about $1 million. The agreement was struck on Tuesday morning, ending a tumultuous stint on the northern beaches for the enigmatic playmaker.

Manly playmaker Josh Schuster.

Schuster hadn’t even began a rich $800,000-per-season contract extension that was poised to begin next season, but both parties agreed the Samoan international needs a fresh start. It means Schuster will finish his Manly stint with exactly 50 games to his credit as he begins the process of looking for a new club.

Schuster had been languishing in reserve grade after a tough pre-season, which included a dose of chickenpox, a spiral fracture of his finger and a calf strain. Then he had to publicly relive the death of his closest friend, Keith Titmuss, in the witness box during a coronial inquest in February.

The club had given him leave to deal with other personal issues and he has been training independently in a bid to get himself into playing shape.

Storm open Hughes extension talks

The Melbourne Storm have opened contract extension talks with star halfback Jahrome Hughes to keep him at the club until the end of 2028.

The Storm have opened negotiations with Hughes’ management about a new deal that will see him finish his career at the Melbourne Storm.

The Storm have been well aware of murmurs linking Hughes to a return to Queensland and have moved to quash suggestions he will depart the club by opening extension talks.

Hughes is contracted until the end of 2026 but the Storm want him to remain at the club for another two seasons beyond that.

Jahrome Hughes opens contract extension talks with Melbourne.

It comes as Broncos and Queensland great Corey Parker revealed he had heard “rumblings” that Hughes is considering making the move back to Queensland for family reasons.

Speaking on SENQ Mornings, Parker believed that the New Zealand-born star was keen to part ways with the club to be closer to his family, who live in Queensland.

“I’m hearing rumblings that one superstar in the game wants to come home to Queensland and be with the family,” Parker revealed. “That player is Jahrome Hughes. Whether that’s at the end of his contract or not, that remains to be seen.

“I know his wife is from the Gold Coast and at this stage, it’s just rumblings that I’m hearing,” Parker said.

Crichton’s future a talking point

Angus Crichton’s future is still up in the air, with the 28-year-old Rooster yet to sign a deal for 2025.

But Crichton, who has been one of the club’s best players during a challenging few weeks, has piqued the interest of NRL rivals the Dragons and the Eels, along with two French rugby clubs.

The former Origin and Kangaroo forward isn’t fazed about not having a contract for next year, and said if he continues to play the way he is a new deal will follow.

Angus Crichton is yet to secure his future in football past this year.

“I still think my best is ahead of me, but I’m definitely sort of in that ballpark where I am getting closer to putting my best performances out every week,” Crichton said.

“Obviously, peace of mind is always nice, but sometimes it’s not a luxury that everyone gets. I’ve been in positions where I have peace of mind, I’ve been in positions where I’ve had to sort of play myself into a contract or play into a position.

“So I’ve been in this position before, and I’m no sort of stranger to it. I think if I work hard, I play good footy, the rest will sort of look after itself.”

There has been no indication from the Roosters that they’re interested in extending Crichton past his current deal, which ends after this season. With Crichton on a base salary of about $675,000 this year, it’s unclear whether the Roosters would even have the salary cap space to accommodate him, even with Joey Manu departing to Japanese rugby next year.

However, Crichton said he was open to all options, whether that is staying at the Tricolours, moving to an NRL rival, or making the switch to rugby union.

“I think, obviously, you want to go somewhere where you’re going to get the best out of yourself, you want to be growing as a person and as a player, and put yourself in a good environment,” he said.

“That’s why I was so keen to jump across and come here [to the Roosters] because I think I became a better person, a better player, a better man and made some great friends and great memories.

“So, wherever I go, I want to be challenging myself, get the best out of myself, and ultimately just having fun and being happy.”

The 28-year-old made his NRL debut with the Rabbitohs in 2016, but played rugby in high school, and said he’d love the challenge of playing the 15-man code.

“I think the challenge [is what interests me] and also the game,” he said. “I’ve been out of the game for a while now, I’d be interested to see where I would pick back up and where I would find myself.

“I think the challenge is something that appeals to me, and I’ve got some friends over there and I’ve enjoyed watching them.”

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Key points

Souths have never won in 18 attempts in Melbourne.

Eels hand young half NRL debut, Cleary returns from injury.

Manly and Josh Schuster have agreed to a million-dollar termination payment.