Knights star Leo Thompson set to leave club as Bulldogs, Raiders battle for prop’s signature | NRL Market Watch

Two rival NRL clubs will wage a big-money battle for the signature of Leo Thompson after the in-demand prop indicated he would be leaving Newcastle at the end of 2025.

Canberra and Canterbury will go head-to-head in a multimillion-dollar battle to sign Newcastle prop Leo Thompson with the Knights set to concede defeat in their bid to retain the international forward.

It’s understood Thompson has indicated to the Knights he would be moving elsewhere for the 2026 season, with speculation he has fielded a rich four-year offer worth more than $3.2 million.

Under NRL rules, once he signs a contract with a rival team, Newcastle will have 10 days to convince Thompson to stay.

However, the Knights are believed to be contemplating withdrawing their offer to retain the New Zealand-born star, and will consider waiving the cooling-off period.

It is a blow for the Knights, given Thompson has established himself among the competition’s elite front-rowers over the past two years. The club also recently released Daniel Saifiti to the Dolphins.

The Raiders and Bulldogs are in the box seat, having targeted the 24-year-old in the free agency market since he became available on November 1.

He had also been linked to the Dolphins, Parramatta and Wests Tigers, the latter of whom recently signed Terrell May from the Sydney Roosters.

This masthead was told Thompson had been offered as much as $900,000-a-season over four years to switch clubs, a claim one of the suitors denies.

The Raiders are keen for Thompson to return to Canberra, where he went through their junior system, and replace veteran front-rower Josh Papali’i. While the Bulldogs have been in the market for a marquee middle after missing out on Addin Fonua-Blake.

Thompson was spotted meeting Canterbury management and coach Cameron Ciraldo at the club’s Belmore headquarters in early December.

The loss of Thompson would be a bitter blow for the Knights, who signed his twin brother, former Super Rugby forward Tyrone Thompson, for the 2025 season.

Thompson has taken several months to determine his future, which included taking himself to the November 1 transfer market, before ultimately making the call to farewell the Knights, the club he made his NRL debut with in 2022.

Originally published as Knights star Leo Thompson set to leave club as Bulldogs, Raiders battle for prop’s signature | NRL Market Watch