NRL 2021: Wests Tigers join race to sign Dale Finucane as Knights drop out
He’s the hottest property in the NRL right now — and Melbourne Storm forward Dale Finucane has another club chasing his signature.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The Wests Tigers have lodged an 11th hour bid to sign the game’s hottest property Dale Finucane.
The Tigers have entered the race as it can also be revealed the Knights have ended their pursuit of the Storm and NSW Origin forward.
The 29-year-old’s current club, the Melbourne Storm, are also resigned to the fact that he will be departing the club at the end of this season.
It leaves the Tigers, Sharks, Dragons, Cowboys and Titans locked-in a multi-million dollar scrap for his signature.
All five clubs are believed to have tabled a three-year contract — but Finucane’s management have been pushing hard for an extra year to seal the deal.
Given the physical nature of the way Finucane has played the game and a recent history of calf problems, the majority of the suitors have been reluctant to go beyond a third year.
Regardless, Finucane’s new deal is expected to be in the vicinity of $2 million dollars - a healthy pay-day for a player who is widely respected for his leadership, work-ethic and cultural standards.
It’s understood the Tigers stepped up their bid to sign Finucane after missing out on Tevita Pangai Jr, who is on the move from the Broncos to Canterbury.
It could throw a late curve-ball to the drawn-out negotiations which was expected to be resolved this weekend after he went through the bids with his agent Andrew Purcell on Friday.
WHY TITANS WANT TO STACK PACK EVEN MORE
By Travis Meyn
Titans coach Justin Holbrook has spoken about his desire to bring NSW Origin star Dale Finucane to the Gold Coast and defended his use of inconsistent David Fifita.
The Titans are one of six clubs in the race to sign Finucane as he weighs up leaving the Melbourne Storm for a lucrative contract elsewhere.
The Gold Coast already boast a host of quality young forwards in the likes of Queensland Origin stars Moeaki Fotuaika, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Fifita, while New Zealand Test prop Isaac Liu will join the club next year.
But Holbrook thinks an experienced campaigner in Finucane could provide the leadership needed to mould the Titans into an NRL finals force.
Watch The 2021 NRL Telstra Premiership Live & On-Demand on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >
Holbrook played down the Gold Coast’s pursuit of Finucane but said he would be a quality acquisition.
“We’re just in the mix to be honest,” he said.
“A player of his experience and professionalism, the way he plays the game, is why so many clubs have shown interest in him.
“He has earnt the right late in his career to have a lot of options there. It’s up to him how he wants to finish his career.
“When the managers throw out the expressions of interest, a lot of clubs stick their hands up.
“That’s where it’s at. I’ve got no idea as to what he’s thinking or where he’ll end up.
“From a club point of view, he’s a quality player with a lot of experience. That’s what interests us.
“Isaac Liu will be fantastic for us. We’ve got a lot of young forwards. You can’t have too many. If you ask me I’ll take everybody.”
Holbrook has more pressing issues on his plate.
The Titans are floundering in 11th spot on the ladder, now two wins out of the top eight after Canberra’s upset win against Parramatta on Thursday night.
They are desperate to beat the Dragons at Cbus Super Stadium on Sunday afternoon in what shapes as a must-win clash.
To do that, the Titans will need more from Fifita, who was benched after 30 minutes in last week’s loss to the Eels.
The Gold Coast’s highest-paid player on $1.1 million this season, Fifita has this week been accused of being “lazy” and not getting involved enough.
Holbrook didn’t hit back at the criticism and admitted the Titans needed Fifita to fire when he was on the field.
“It’s easy during a game to make those comments,” he said.
“Last week we had Kevin (Proctor) in the sin bin and didn’t touch the ball.
“It was very hard for anybody to make an impact, especially with the way the game’s played now and you don’t have the ball.
“I’m okay. I can’t control peoples’ opinions. I’ve got no problems with them saying that.
“Collectively as a team we’ve got to play better. In the game against Canberra he did some absolutely quality things and had a rest in the back end of that game.
“It’s very difficult for backrowers to play 80 minutes now. All the middle guys get plenty of rest and now you’ll find the good backrowers are only playing 60 minutes a game due to the speed of it.
“For David it’s about making sure when he’s on he is making an impact. We need him (to make an impact). That’s why he’s in our side.”
RACE FOR ORIGIN STAR HEATS UP
The Dragons, Cowboys, Titans, Sharks and Storm are locked in a battle for the signature of Dale Finucane.
After several weeks of negotiations and tabled offers, the off-contract Storm forward is edging towards making the most significant contract call of his career.
The NSW Origin vice-captain has received three-year offers from the Dragons, Cowboys, Titans and Sharks.
The offers will see the 212-game player earn in excess of $600,000 a season.
The Dragons interest in Finucane has been expedited by the contract termination and departure of Paul Vaughan, which has freed up more than $800,000 in salary cap space next season.
The Cowboys have made it known to Finucane that they are determined to sign a player that boasts his leadership qualities and that upon his arrival they could move Kiwi Test star Jason Taumalolo to the back row to accommodate him.
The Gold Coast could do likewise to fit Finucane into their star-studded pack.
The Storm have also made the 29-year-old co-captain an offer, but are resigned to losing him given the size of the offers from rival clubs.
The Sharks are the smokey in the pack with incoming coach and NSW Origin assistant Craig Fitzgibbon forming a strong relationship with Finucane during the most recent State of Origin series.
Fitzgibbon is also well-known to Finucane’s agent Andrew Purcell – who also manages Storm star and 2022 Cronulla recruit Nicho Hynes.
Finucane would prove a straight replacement for 2022 free-agent, Aaron Woods,
Interest in Finucane from each of the six clubs is motivated by not only the force of his on-field playing talent, but the leadership and cultural standards that Storm coach Craig Bellamy rates as equal to any player he has seen.
Meanwhile, Melbourne has been rebuffed after making discreet inquiries about a potential swap deal involving Brisbane winger Xavier Coates and Broncos-bound Brenko Lee.
It is understood the Storm made an approach to Brisbane in recent days after hearing whispers that Coates would not be selected again this season. The Broncos are believed to have rejected the offer even though they have already announced that Storm centre Lee will join them next season. They also insist that Coates will be selected on merit for the remainder of the year.
Melbourne are likely to be undeterred and it would be no surprise if they asked the question again before the August 1 deadline given Coates is on the outer at the moment and the Broncos are in the midst of a roster overhaul.
On Wednesday, Brisbane struck a deal that will allow Tevita Pangai Jr to join Penrith for the remainder of the season before leaving for Canterbury at the end of the season.
The Broncos were more than happy for Pangai Jr to depart but they are standing their ground with Coates even though the Queensland flyer finds himself out of the starting side – Corey Oates and Jamayne Isaako will occupy the wing spots this weekend.
“Xavier is a well-liked member of the squad,” head of football Ben Ikin. “There is a whole lot of change going on here at the moment and where we can keep the stability, (we will).”
BULLDOGS PROP JOINS ROOSTERS
By David Riccio
The Roosters have restocked their forward pack by signing Bulldogs front-rower Renouf Atoni for next year.
Unwanted by Canterbury, the former Junior Kiwi has inked a two-year deal at an average of $150,000 a season.
A hard-running ball-carrier, Atoni is a shrewd purchase by the Roosters who view the 26-year-old as a direct replacement for Isaac Liu – who is joining the Titans in 2022.
Atoni – formerly To’omaga before changing his surname – made his NRL debut in 2018 and despite being used during only 12 matches this season, has played a total of 41 NRL games.
BRONCOS SIGN COWBOYS FORWARD
By Peter Badel
The Broncos have ruled out a poaching raid on Dale Finucane, leaving Queensland rivals the Cowboys and Titans locked in a $1.8 million bidding war for the NSW Origin hardman.
News Corp understands Brisbane have enough room in their salary cap for one more top-line purchase and Finucane is viewed as the perfect player to lead a Broncos cultural overhaul given his outstanding service for the Melbourne Storm.
But after landing five recruits in the past three months, the Broncos do not have the fiscal muscle under the salary cap to table a competitive offer for Finucane, who remains off-contract at big guns the Storm.
The Cowboys have tabled a three-year deal for Finucane worth around $600,000 a season, while the Dragons and Titans are also circling the premiership-winning middle-forward.
Finucane has promised to give the Storm the last right of refusal for his services. His leadership, toughness and 212 games of NRL experience would be ideal qualities for Brisbane’s youthful pack, but Broncos football boss Ben Ikin concedes the Blues enforcer is out of the club’s price range.
“He won’t be at the Broncos,” Ikin said.
“There is always interest in top-quality players like Finucane, but we are not in the mix I would think based on reported figures to get Dale to the club.
“Dale is a different style of player, but he brings similar habits to Kurt Capewell (Panthers forward who will join the Broncos next season).
“We have brought in a couple of outsiders, including Adam Reynolds (Souths halfback), that top us up in terms of experience.
“As our roster starts to take shape, you start to look for different capabilities and have we got those internally. We are happy with the forward talent we have coming through and we hope they will evolve over the next 12 to 24 months.”
While the Broncos cannot afford Finucane, they have continued their aggressive recruitment-and-retention drive with the signing of Cowboys grand-final forward Corey Jensen.
The North Queensland junior has inked a two-year contract in the lead-up to the Broncos’ showdown with the Panthers this Saturday night at Suncorp Stadium.
Jensen is the 14th player to either sign with, or pledge their loyalty to, the Broncos this season, joining fellow recruits Capewell, Brenko Lee, Billy Walters and South Sydney halfback maestro Reynolds.
The 27-year-old Jensen made his NRL debut in 2017 and enjoyed a dream rookie year, playing for the Cowboys in their grand-final loss to Melbourne.
The hardworking Townsville product has played 58 NRL games, starting on five occasions, and is viewed as a well-priced prop who will bolster Brisbane’s middle-forward rotation led by Payne Haas.
Ikin confirmed the Broncos have come to terms with Jensen, who will finish the season at the Cowboys before joining Brisbane until the end of 2023.
“We wanted Corey to build some depth,” he said.
“He has been around the NRL scene for a while, he brings an older, harder edge.
“He is not at the back end of his career, he is still growing, but he has played a lot of footy at both levels and been in the system for a while.
“We felt he would supplement our list of forwards well.”
Is this the end for Broncos speedster?
—Peter Badel
Melbourne-bound Xavier Coates may have played his last game for the Broncos as coach Kevin Walters begins roster planning for Brisbane’s finals fightback next season.
Coates was a shock omission for Saturday night’s clash against the Panthers at Suncorp Stadium, a showdown that comes just 10 days after the towering winger featured in Queensland’s 20-18 defeat of NSW in State of Origin III.
Strangely, Coates has gone from being a State of Origin winger to an out-of-favour Bronco unable to get a start with the reigning wooden spooners.
While Coates was rested for last Sunday’s loss to the Wests Tigers, he was expected to return for the Panthers fixture, only to be left out again as Walters retained the wing pairing of Corey Oates and Jamayne Isaako.
Coates will link with big guns the Storm next season and News Corp understands the 20-year-old is no certainty to return to the Broncos‘ top squad unless injuries pave the way for his comeback.
Coates has no injury concerns and has trained well over the past week, fuelling suggestions Walters is looking to the future with Oates and Isaako, both of whom are contracted to the Broncos for 2022.
With the Broncos set to miss the finals, Walters wants to use the final seven weeks of the season to work on combinations for a Broncos resurrection next season that will not include Storm recruit Coates.
Broncos centre Kotoni Staggs confirmed Coates is not battling any ailments and hopes his former right-side cohort can fight his way back at Red Hill before he moves to Melbourne.
“Xavier is a good winger and a good player,” he said.
“All I know is Xavier trained well (on Wednesday) and his fitness is there.
“Everything is going to plan with him and hopefully in the next few weeks he can slot back in the team. But he is looking fit out on the field.”
Coates has scored 14 tries from 28 games for the Broncos and the Storm believe they can turn the speedster into one of the NRL’s superstars when he replaces Bulldogs-bound Josh Addo-Carr next year.
Staggs said the Broncos were looking for selection stability after Walters came under fire last month for chopping and changing Brisbane’s starting side.
“To play Origin, Xavier has to be good, but at the end of the day, the coaching staff makes the call and he is not playing because of the coach‘s reasons,” he said.
“We don’t want to change our team every week, we want to stick to the same team and changing the team every week isn’t ideal.
“Hopefully he gets his chance again this season, we have seven games to go so hopefully he can slot in there somewhere in the weeks to come.”
The Broncos almost upset the Panthers in round six, losing 20-12 in a thriller at Suncorp, and Staggs is confident Brisbane can again challenge the premiership contenders.
“We don‘t go into any game thinking we will lose,” he said.
“It was 12-all last time coming to the last few minutes and we let them off the hook.
“The Panthers are one of the best teams in the comp at the moment, but if we can play the way we did last time we can hold them out.”
UNDER FIRE BRONCO OPENS UP ON NRL FUTURE
—Peter Badel
Corey Oates has ended months of speculation about his future at Brisbane by outlining his desire to finish his career at the Broncos.
News Corp can reveal Broncos hierarchy have assured Oates’ management they are committed to the former Queensland Origin winger amid fears the 26-year-old was on the verge of asking for permission to negotiate with rival clubs.
Oates was so uncertain about his role under Kevin Walters that he fronted the Broncos coach last month asking why he had been axed to feeder-club Souths Logan on two occasions this season.
As Oates languished in the Intrust Super Cup for almost six weeks, his management held delicate talks with new Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy about the prospect of an early release for the 163-game NRL veteran to secure his playing future elsewhere.
But after being recalled to the top grade a fortnight ago, Oates insists he has no plans to quit Brisbane and is determined to deliver consistent performances in his desire to become a Bronco for life.
“As far as I know, I want to be here for the rest of my career,” said Oates, who is contracted to the Broncos until the end of next season.
“Everyone knows that, but I have to prove that and show that’s what I want to do for the rest of the year (and beyond).
“As far as I know, I am here next year.
“I have to keep showing I can bring a lot to the team and show them I want to be here and want to play for the club and play for the jersey for the time I have left in the NRL.
“That’s all on me.”
While long-time teammates Matt Lodge, Anthony Milford and Tevita Pangai Jr won’t be in Broncos colours next season, Oates is motivated not to be part of the Red Hill exodus.
This, his ninth season at the Broncos, has arguably been the most turbulent of Oates’ career. He was axed for Brisbane’s season opener against Parramatta, then dropped after the Broncos’ heavy 50-6 loss to Manly in the NRL’s Magic Round in mid-May.
But a recent heart-to-heart with Walters during Brisbane’s bye weekend in late June was the catalyst for Oates’ rejuvenated mindset.
Walters wiped the slate clean and challenged Oates to rediscover his optimum form. It’s on him to perform … or perish.
“It’s always good to be back in the NRL,” he said ahead of Saturday’s clash against the Panthers.
“It’s hard to go back and play Q Cup and I’ve tried to take it as a learning curve.
“They obviously saw stuff they didn’t like in me, but I had to go back and show them I still had it and still wanted to be here.
“I will be honest, looking back there were things I wasn’t doing each week and I had to come to the realisation I wasn’t doing my job week in, week out.
“I had to get my body right and get my routine right. I have to start recovering a lot better and doing things that I probably didn’t think I needed to do to get my body right for the game.
“The main thing was working on things I bring to a team that’s beneficial. I need good strong yardage carries, positivity, being upbeat, lots of talk and making good reads in defence and being good under the high ball.
“I have to keep improving and keep finding ways to get better.”
More Coverage
Originally published as NRL 2021: Wests Tigers join race to sign Dale Finucane as Knights drop out
Gus’ ‘doctored’ claim ignites NRL conspiracy
The NRL Grand Final’s controversial no try scandal has taken a wild turn despite the game releasing the angle the decision was based on.
Kangaroos selection shocks: NRL legends’ Test careers appear over
Mal Meninga has dropped a major selection bombshell by overlooking both James Tedesco and Kalyn Ponga for Kangaroos selection, with the list of surprise omissions and debutants not ending there. See the full squad.