Inside Manly’s signing spree: Why last remaining Fulton at Sea Eagles could be on the outer

The last remaining Fulton at the Sea Eagles is set to leave the club, bringing the curtain down on the family’s incredible influence at the club.

Josh Schuster signed a lucrative new deal to stay with Manly. Picture: NRL PHotos

Manly’s multimillion-dollar spending spree is far from over with the Sea Eagles making it clear their premiership window is fast-approaching.

The Sea Eagles outlaid about $10 million worth of signings last week headlined by the impending arrival of Wests Tigers halfback Luke Brooks and the big money re-signings of Josh Schuster and Tolutau Koula.

They also added outside backs Jaxson Paulo and Tommy Talau.

“We believe we are coming into a premiership window,” said Manly boss Tony Mestrov. “You’ve seen us be quite aggressive in the player market. That’s no fluke. We believe we have players that have special talents that can compete for premierships.

“We’re not getting ahead of ourselves but we want to be a top year team year-on-year.”

Josh Schuster signed a lucrative new deal to stay with Manly. Picture: NRL PHotos

The Sea Eagles are far from finished. It can be revealed that:

– Aaron Woods, Brad Parker, Christian Tuipulotu, Ethan Bullemor, Jamie Humphreys, Kaeo Weekes and Raymond Vaega are set to extend their time at the club.

– Big man Taniela Paseka is on the verge of a long-term deal.

– Samuela and Latu Fainu may not be the only players on the move, with Sean Keppie and Zac Fulton linked to early exits despite being contracted.

— Morgan Boyle and Morgan Harper are unlikely to be offered new deals.

— The club remains on the lookout for a Tom Trbojevic replacement for the rest of the season.

– Manly wants to add an experienced prop.

The last remaining Fulton – Zac, who has played just one NRL game – could be on the move. Picture: NRL Photos

ALL-OUT ATTACK

The signing of Brooks followed by Schuster’s decision a day later to recommit to the club until the end of 2027 raised some eyebrows. Schuster will be forced into a positional switch but the Brooks, Schuster, Trbojevic and Daly Cherry-Evans combination looms as one of the most potent attacking units in the competition.

“It gives us an incredible attacking unit,” Mestrov said.

“The first thing that impressed us with Luke was the amount of resilience he has shown. Being at the Tigers he has been getting so much criticism but has played through that. That is a big attraction.

“No player has copped more flak than Luke and it has been unnecessary. He and Daly will complement each other. No matter the number on Josh’s back he will continue to play the same.

“Josh loves the club. He stayed for less. It was a very quick negotiation.”

Luke Brooks will join the Sea Eagles in 2024. Picture: NRL Photos

PRICE OF GOING ALL IN

Something had to give at the Sea Eagles given their rich spending spree and it will come at the cost of rising stars – the Fainu brothers. Latu had long been earmarked as a future elite NRL half but he and his back-rower brother Samuela could leave the club as early as this month. Latu’s rich deal where he would join the top 30 next season made it difficult to carry him on their books.

The brothers met the Tigers on Wednesday night and have already sat down with Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett.

“They are a long-term project and it is a salary cap issue,” Mestrov said.

“Latu is going to be a terrific player in the future. But he is 18 and a little way away from playing regular first grade. We felt the club needed to be in a position to have potential immediate success and we see that opportunity with Daly and Luke.”

The brothers might not be the only players headed for the exits. The last remaining Fulton – Zac who has played just one NRL game – could also be on the move having been linked to the Tigers.

Keppie has also attracted immediate interest after being dumped to NSW Cup this week.

NOT GIVING UP ON 2023

Trbojevic’s injury threatens to derail Manly’s 2023 season. Manly were 13th on the ladder heading into this round and are one point behind the Roosters who they play on Sunday. The club made a play for Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to fill Trbojevic’s role for the rest of the year but were told he needed six weeks to get himself physically right.

“That’s an ongoing process,” Mestrov said.

“We can’t replace Tom but we’re trying to bring in a quality player to boost our chances of making the top eight. That’s a work in progress. It’s not as easy as everything thinks. Players aren’t available and clubs are reluctant to let back-up fullbacks go but we have the money (about $350,000) set aside.”