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South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou says he would love to add Jack Wighton to his star-studded Rabbitohs backline as the Canberra five-eighth weighs up his NRL future – amidst reports that he could lose $1 million over fur years by switching to the Bunnies.
News Corp claimed Wighton is expected to travel to Sydney on Friday to finalise a four-year deal with South Sydney.
The contract is expected to be worth around the $3.4 million mark over four seasons – which News says is $1 million less than the $4.4 million deal the Raiders have tabled.
The 30-year-old has spent the entirety of his NRL career with the Raiders. Wighton has received interest from the Dolphins but reports emerged on Wednesday that Souths were also weighing up an offer.
But Demetriou claimed such a move would hinge on the wiggle room in their salary cap.
Jack Wighton. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
“I love Jack and I know he’s got a lot of good friends in the club through rep footy,” Demetriou said. “If Cookie’s willing to take a pay cut there’s probably something we can sit down and have a chat about.
“We’ll get all the big earners and see what they’re willing to do. We’d love to have him here if there was an opportunity to get him here, but we’re pretty full on the salary cap as well. It’s unlikely but we’ll see what happens.”
With Walker the team’s five-eighth, Wighton would most likely have to fill in at centre.
Demetriou lauded Walker as the game’s best No.6 after last week’s win over the Dolphins but he faces a much sterner test in his head-to-head battle with Jarome Luai.
Penrith have beaten Souths in 10 of their last 11 meetings and the Walker-Luai clash makes for salivating viewing on Thursday with State of Origin selection for NSW becoming a hot topic.
Walker hasn’t played for the Blues since 2020 and while backing his No.6, Demetriou conceded it would be hard for him to dislodge Luai.
“I’d be picking him (Walker) if I was picking a team but obviously I don’t pick the team,” Demetriou said. “Jarome has done a great job over the last few years and he’s the incumbent.
Cody Walker celebrates with Latrell Mitchell, Keaon Koloamatangi and Lachlan Ilias. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
“Jarome would have to be playing pretty ordinary not to get a start and I think he’s playing some good footy at the moment.
“Cody’s very much an attacking minded player and what I really like about Jarome is his ability to compete, he’s in the fight all the time.”
Demetriou confirmed star back-rower Keaon Koloamatangi would be back in six to eight weeks after undergoing ankle surgery, while revealing Siliva Havili, Liam Knight and Junior Tatola were all nearing a return to full fitness.
Craig Bellamy appears set to delay retirement yet again to continue at the Storm in 2024, which could throw St George Illawarra’s search for a new coach into a spin.
Bellamy is considering remaining as coach for another season and is tipped to inform Melbourne officials in the near future of his decision.
Roosters assistant coach Jason Ryles is considered one of the frontrunners to replace Bellamy and is also in the frame for the role at the Dragons with incumbent Anthony Griffin set to be dumped this season.
Queensland coach Billy Slater is also a strong chance to succeed Bellamy and he has already told the Dragons he is not interested in a move to Wollongong for his first NRL gig.
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According to a Sydney Morning Herald report, Bellamy has told confidants he is probably going to shelve retirement plans for another year before making the transition into a reduced off-field role with Melbourne, probably after retiring to a house on the Gold Coast.
(Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)
Earlier this season Bellamy had said he was pretty sure it was going to be his last season as coach.
Ryles is contracted to the Roosters until the end of next season so if he is chosen by the Storm, he would not have to ask for an early release, which he will have to do if he is offered the job at St George Illawarra where he made his name as a NSW and Australian front-rower after coming through the local juniors.
Roosters prop Matt Lodge on Tuesday declared Ryles ready to be an NRL coach as St George Illawarra weigh up options to replace Griffin.
The Dragons board met on Tuesday morning and, while there was no significant movement on the coaching front, the issue remains up in the air.
Griffin is off-contract at the end of the season and had already been told by the Dragons they planned to canvas the availability of potential replacements.
A decision on Griffin’s future could be made before the next board meeting in mid-May, with the Dragons currently 13th on the ladder and the next three weeks crucial.
After dropping games against Gold Coast and Canberra in the past fortnight, the Saints face the Sydney Roosters, Canterbury and Wests Tigers in the coming weeks.
Ryles played 156 games for the Dragons, and has since served as an assistant to Bellamy at the Storm and to Eddie Jones with the England rugby team before his Roosters posting.
“He’ll definitely be a first grade coach for sure,” Lodge said of Ryles ahead of the Roosters’ Anzac Day clash with the Dragons. “Hopefully he stays here for a while longer, but he’s just composed and he works hard and he’s got a good relationship with the boys.
“He’s tough on us when he has to be, some can get their point across and some can’t but he definitely can. He’s been really good for me as a middle forward – he’s precise and direct.”
Des Hasler could be another option for the Dragons as an experienced mentor along with Shane Flanagan.
Ben Hornby and Dean Young were assistants to Paul McGregor previously and have long been expected to be options to return.
Young is at North Queensland as an assistant and the club would likely not hold him back if the opportunity arose, while Hornby is serving under Jason Demetriou at South Sydney.
“He’s a great coach, he’s a big reason why our attack has been flying the last few years,” Rabbitohs hooker Damien Cook said of Hornby. “He’s just got a great understanding of the game, he’s smart about how he goes about things.
“I love having him around, so I understand why the Dragons would be looking at him. But I don’t really want to encourage that sort of conversation at all.”
Anthony Griffin. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
Jarome Luai has declared Penrith his home as the back-to-back premiers begin hatching a plan to retain both their star five-eighth and fullback Dylan Edwards beyond 2024.
Luai and Edwards have been critical to the Panthers’ sustained success over the past four seasons but both are free to negotiate with rival clubs for 2025 come November 1.
Penrith have been hard-pressed to keep all of their big-name players in recent seasons, losing Viliame Kikau, Matt Burton, Kurt Capewell, Brent Naden and Api Koroisau to cashed-up rivals craving premiership experience.
Retaining both Luai and Edwards looms as their biggest challenge yet, not least because of the fullback’s recent performances.
After years of flying under the radar, Edwards is in career-best form, with pundits suggesting he would be in the frame for representative selection this year if NSW and Australia captain James Tedesco was injured.
Defecting to a rival would almost certainly earn the fullback an increase on his reported current salary of $500,000 per year – less than half the pay-packet of million-dollar rival fullbacks Tedesco, Tom Trbojevic and Kalyn Ponga.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
For his part, Luai is the incumbent Blues five-eighth at State of Origin level and reportedly earns around $700,000 per season on his current contract, signed before the Panthers won either of their premierships.
Despite both being poised for increases, coach Ivan Cleary last week insisted he was confident the Panthers could retain both men beyond 2024, pointing to their longstanding connection with the club as local juniors.
Luai has not broached the topic with his teammate but felt confident the pair was on the same page.
“This is our home and we’ve had a lot of success here,” Luai told AAP. “Hopefully they can keep us both. I’d love to stay, this is my home. I think we just leave it in the hands of our managers and Penrith themselves.”
Far from feeling threatened by the prospect of jostling with Edwards for a pay-rise, Luai is cheering for his teammate’s upswing in form.
Edwards scored four tries in the round six defeat of Manly, the most for a Panther in any game since July 2020, and is ranked second in the league for tackle busts through seven rounds.
“He’s killing it, like he’s always done,” Luai said. “It’s pretty cool that he’s getting recognition from the outside because he definitely deserves it. He’s never been underrated to us.”
Luai is preparing to farewell fellow Samoan internationals Stephen Crichton and Spencer Leniu at the end of the season, the pair having agreed to contracts with Canterbury and the Sydney Roosters, respectively.
The five-eighth has a close relationship with both men but said their departures would not impact upon his desire to stay with the Panthers.
“We’re just going to enjoy the rest of the time that we have with ‘Critta’ and ‘Spenny’ and guys like that,” he said. “This year is a big one for us.”
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