Market Watch: NRL survivor edges towards big contract call
The NRL free agency playmaking market is thinning by the day, with veterans Kodi Nikorima and Chad Townsend closing in on new deals with the Dolphins and Cowboys respectively.
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Kodi Nikorima has been offered a new deal by the Dolphins as supercoach Wayne Bennett lauded the utility’s career fightback from his sacking at Queensland rivals the Broncos.
The Dolphins have tabled a two-year extension for Nikorima, who continues his Redcliffe resurrection in Sunday’s clash against the Knights at Suncorp Stadium.
The NRL’s 17th team has embarked on an aggressive recruitment-and-retention drive, upgrading Isaiya Katoa and Max Plath and poaching Kulikefu Finefeuiaki from the Cowboys on a three-year deal.
Now the Dolphins have moved to secure the off-contract Nikorima, who will wage a five-eighth battle with another former Bronco, Knights pivot Tyson Gamble, as Redcliffe (4-2) look to remain in the top four.
Nikorima was in limbo at Souths in 2022, but since becoming a foundation Dolphin last year, the 30-year-old has enjoyed a career renaissance, playing 21 games in Redcliffe’s debut campaign.
This season, Nikorima has ousted Sean O’Sullivan and Anthony Milford for a starting scrumbase berth at the Dolphins, with Bennett hopeful the Maori All Stars livewire remains at Redcliffe until the end of 2026.
“We’d love to keep him on,” Bennett said.
“I’d like for Kodi to finish his career with the Dolphins and there’s no reason why he won’t.
“He was one of the first 10 players we recruited and he has been wonderful for us.
“There’s not many guys with his versatility, he can play any position in the backline and Kodi has developed some good leadership qualities.
“He has genuine leadership in him and his teammates really value his input.”
It is testament to Nikorima’s resilience that he has risen from the canvas a number of times.
A veteran of 15 Tests for New Zealand, he was a member of Brisbane’s 2015 grand final team in his rookie season, but was offloaded to the Warriors in 2019 after Bennett was sacked by the Broncos in favour of Anthony Seibold.
After four seasons in his native New Zealand, the Palmerston North product was shipped off to South Sydney and he appeared headed for the scrap heap when Bennett issued a Dolphins lifeline.
In just 27 games for his fourth club, Nikorima has played fullback, centre, five-eighth, a bench utility role and had mid-match cameos at halfback.
“Kodi has been a great survivor,” Bennett said.
“The Broncos let him go, they shoved him off in the middle of the season to the Warriors and then he went from the Warriors to South Sydney and now he’s with us.
“When Ben Hunt left, we didn’t have a halfback, so I decided to put Kodi at halfback. Anthony Milford was our five-eighth at the time and they knew each other well.
“I always felt Kodi could be a good playmaker. I was never disappointed in what he did for us at the Broncos.
“Unfortunately I left the Broncos and they got rid of that experiment, but I always felt Kodi had something to offer an NRL squad.
“Kodi is a very good person. He is very calm with our younger players here, understanding and tolerant.
“He is always happy to play any position that you ask him to play, having a history with him at the Broncos, I always knew what Kodi could bring to the Dolphins.”
‘OPEN TO ALL OPTIONS’: TOWNSEND TO PLAY ON
Chad Townsend has dismissed retirement talk and declared he is playing on next season as the Cowboys playmaker strives to deliver a second title to North Queensland.
This masthead can reveal Townsend’s management has kicked off preliminary talks with the Cowboys on a new deal for the veteran halfback ahead of Saturday’s blockbuster against Penrith in Townsville.
Townsend’s $2.1 million, three-year Cowboys contract expires at season’s end and that deal was expected to represent his final NRL deal before a possible career swan song in the English Super League.
But with the Cowboys building a squad boasting title-winning potential, Townsend is determined to soldier on in 2025 as he looks to engineer North Queensland’s first premiership since 2015.
Townsend celebrates his 250th top-grade game against the Panthers at Queensland Country Bank Stadium and confirmed he wants to ink a 12-month extension.
“At this stage, it’s my intention to play on next year,” he said ahead of his showdown with Penrith champion Nathan Cleary.
“Physically and mentally I feel really good.
“I still have that motivation to get better and to compete the best I can.
“Since I have moved to the Cowboys, I haven’t missed a game. Touch wood, I have played every game and I take a lot of pride in that because of the way I prepare for games and the way I look after myself.”
Townsend’s manager Chris Orr said he had begun talks with the Cowboys with a view to securing the premiership playmaker for a second term in Townsville.
“Chad is the most credentialed halfback currently off-contract in the NRL,” Orr said.
“He is a real pro and brings that game management and on-field coaching that some of the teams this year are missing terribly.”
The halfback who snapped Cronulla’s 49-year title drought in 2016, Townsend’s preference is to remain at the Cowboys, but he is open to exploring his value on the open market.
Currently on around $700,000, Townsend is facing a pay cut to stay at the Cowboys, whose offer will determine if the Caringbah product remains at the scrumbase alongside Tom Dearden next season.
“I am definitely open to all options,” said Townsend, who turns 34 in January.
“I have really enjoyed my time here at the Cowboys and I would really love to stay here, but I’m open to any scenario and you have to be with where I’m at in my career.
“A lot of the senior halfbacks in the game are around my age or even a bit older than me.
“It’s convinced me to play on and I love seeing veteran players continuing to play well.
“Seeing playmakers like Shaun Johnson, Daly Cherry-Evans and Adam Reynolds still playing some great football is motivating.
“Once you turn 30, you become a whole lot more mature and read the game differently.
“I feel more in control now of my decision-making than ever before.
“It’s my intention to get a one-year deal somewhere and whatever happens after that will sort itself out.”
Townsend seemed destined for the NRL scrap heap after an ill-fated, five-game stint at the Warriors in 2021, but his move to the Cowboys has paid dividends.
“It has reinvigorated me,” he said.
“Some of the relationships I’ve formed up here are some of the best I’ve had in football.
“Throughout my 14 years and 250 games, there’s been many tough times and many good times as well and more often than not, those tough times teach you quite a few lessons.
“I’m grateful for the good and bad because they have shaped me into a resilient person.”
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