NRL Market Watch: Latest free agency and player movement news and whispers

Parramatta’s grand-final side is in danger of being gutted at the end of next season, but where star halves Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown end up playing in 2024 is anyone’s guess.

Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown.

The Dolphins are targeting Parramatta’s grand-final halves Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown as pressure builds on super coach Wayne Bennett to land a marquee signing for the NRL’s 17th team.

News Corp can reveal Dolphins bosses have earmarked Moses or Brown as Plan B marquee recruits for 2024 in the wake of Cameron Munster’s decision to stay loyal to the Storm.

But the Dolphins are facing a battle for Moses, with the Bulldogs — armed with a $7 million recruitment war chest — launching a multimillion-dollar poaching bid for the Parramatta playmaker.

Moses is contracted to the Eels until the end of next season but has indicated he will join around 200 players to head to free agency from November 1 – opening the door for a raft of suitors, including the Dolphins and Bulldogs, to strike.

Parramatta’s grand final halves Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown are both off-contract at the end of 2023. Picture: Richard Dobson

The Dolphins have $1.4 million to spend on a marquee player after Munster rejected their NRL record offer and Bennett is prepared to redirect those funds to lure Moses or Brown to Redcliffe.

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Moses is on $900,000 at Parramatta, while his scrumbase partner Brown is on $850,000, and the Eels will come under enormous pressure to upgrade and extend their star halves under the salary cap.

The Bulldogs have just eight contracted players on their books at this stage for the 2024 season, giving them several millions of dollars in salary-cap space to blow the Eels out of the water for Moses, having already poached Parramatta hooker Reed Mahoney.

Of the 25 playmakers off-contract for 2024, Moses and Brown are two of the most attractive options and Dolphins boss Terry Reader confirmed the NRL’s expansion newcomers have drawn up a hit list of priority signings.

“I’ve had discussions with Wayne and Peter (O’Sullivan, recruitment boss) about what our targets look like for 2024 and Cameron wasn’t the only one,” Reader said.

“We have a number of guys we have been on the lookout for and we have the salary cap room to table competitive offers.”

Asked if Moses and Brown are on the Dolphins’ radar, Reader said: “We are certainly in the market and nothing changes in that regard. We will continue what we are doing and making sure we sign players that we believe will be a good fit for our team.

“Now that we have clarity on Cameron Munster, we will continue negotiations with other players and their managers.

“We’re comfortable with our progress and we’ll fill our roster with more spots before kick off in 2023.”

Having missed out on Munster, Dolphins hierarchy have discussed the relative merits of Moses and Brown.

Just turned 28, Moses has played 198 NRL games and is in the prime of his career at halfback, while Brown, 22, is six years younger than his Eels teammate and could be an NRL second receiver for the next decade.

Moses insists he is content at the Eels but he is sure to be tested by lucrative offers from the Dolphins and Bulldogs, who have maligned halfback Kyle Flanagan off-contract next year.

“I would love something to get sorted but I have left it up to my management,” Moses said.

Brown and Moses took the Eels to their first grand final since 2009.

“I love this place. They have been so good to me and to experience something like the grand final, it makes you want to come back.

“I am not really worried at all (about his contract). In the past I have handled it probably the wrong way. I have learnt from those mistakes, I am pretty cruisy.

“I have full trust that something will get sorted. It’s only a matter of time.”

Brown will test his value on the open market after the World Cup and his manager Chris Orr said it would take a $1 million-plus offer from the Dolphins to prise the Kiwi Test playmaker out of the Eels.

“There’s no doubt he is happy at Parra,” said Orr of PSM.

“He has a great relationship with everyone at the club and it would take a massive deal to pull him out of the club.

“The reality is Dylan is a different individual. He walks to the beat of his own drum.

“Dylan is a free spirit and if I went to the open market, he would have a stack of clubs chasing him. I’ve had calls from a few clubs but I’ve respected Dylan’s request not to worry about contracts until the World Cup is out of the way.”

Dolphins chief executive Terry Reader.

Just a month out from their first pre-season, the Dolphins have yet to fill their 30-man roster, but Reader dismissed concerns about their recruitment following the Munster setback.

“We need to sign another six players but under NRL rules, you need to have 24 players by November 1 and we have met that,” Reader said.

“There is still plenty of time before we officially run out in March next year.

“Wayne (Bennett) has spoken about the need for patience and we still have some firepower to add to our squad.

“While we have missed out on Cam, there will be other quality players on the market and guys will get squeezed out because of the salary cap.

“The Dolphins still have funds in the cap to add quality for 2023 before we start worrying about our second season in 2024.

Dragons fire up bid for Panthers hard man

—Brent Read, Michael Carayannis

St George Illawarra has become the latest club to express an interest in Penrith forward Liam Martin as pressure intensifies on the Panthers to lock up the NSW Origin backrower before November 1.

News Corp understands Dragons officials have notified Martin’s management of their plan to join the battle for his signature for the 2024 season.

Penrith has tabled an offer to Martin but talks have been painstaking, leaving the Panthers with just weeks to secure their star forward before he can sign with rival clubs on November 1 for the 2024 season.

The situation has been exacerbated with Martin’s selection in the Australian team, which means he will spend the next six weeks in England at the World Cup.

The Dragons have joined the race to lure Liam Martin away from Penrith. Picture: NRL Photos

The queue for Martin is growing by the day after his starring performance for Penrith in the grand final. Even before then, Martin was on the hit list for a host of clubs, most notably Parramatta.

They now face competition for his signature from the Dragons, who are in the market for an edge backrower and have identified Martin as a potential signing.

The Dragons have also made it known that they would be willing to speak to Gold Coast and Queensland forward David Fifita, whose partner Shaylee Bent plays for St George Illawarra’s NRLW side.

Fifita is off-contract at the end of next season and the Titans are keen to step up talks in coming weeks, although he too is at the World Cup as a member of the Tongan side.

The Dragons’ Tyrell Sloan.

The Dragons have plenty on their plate in the lead-up to November 1 as they struggle to keep youngsters Tyrell Sloan and Jayden Sullivan in the fold.

Both have formally requested releases, the former over frustration with the way his season has panned out and the latter because of the club’s decision to sign captain and halfback Ben Hunt to an extended deal.

Jaydn Su’A was a consistent presence on one edge for the Dragons last season but coach Anthony Griffin found it hard to find a player to dominate the other side of the field.

Martin would be the ideal acquisition, although the Panthers are well aware of the need to stump up for the NSW forward given his growing standing in the game and the competition for his signature.

Eels star signs mega contract extension

-Dean Ritchie

Shaun Lane, the giant edge forward who claimed Parramatta’s best and fairest this season, has signed a new three-year with the Eels.

And Lane’s retention comes as Parramatta also revealed bench utility Jake Arthur had agreed to a contract extension.

Lane’s new deal — first revealed by The Daily Telegraph — has him locked down at Parramatta until the end of 2026. The extension also ends suggestions Lane would throw himself onto the NRL open market from November 1.

Lane has played four years at Parramatta and logged 99 NRL matches.

After a stellar season, where he was unlucky to miss World Cup selection for Australia, Lane was awarded the Ken Thornett Medal at Parramatta’s presentation night last week.

Shaun Lane has re-signed with the Eels for three years.

In a further boost, Arthur and young Sean Russell have also extended at the club.

Local junior Arthur, who scored a try in this year’s grand final, has re-signed until the end of 2024, as has Russell, also a local junior.

Parramatta also announced the signing of forward Jack Murchie, who has played 40 NRL games for two previous clubs, Canberra (three games) and New Zealand Warriors (37).

Murchie signed a two-year deal from 2023.

“These players believe in the direction the club is heading under the leadership of Brad Arthur and they epitomise everything our club aspires to be; connected and respected,” Parramatta general manager of football Mark O’Neill said. “We look forward to the contribution these players will make in our premiership campaigns going forward.”

Dragons lure prop away from Pride

Barnstorming front-rower Nick Lui-Toso has nothing but fond memories and love for the Northern Pride as he farewells his home of the past two years.

The prop had every intention of staying at Barlow Park for 2023 towards the end of the season, knocking back offers from other clubs as he sought maintain his dominant form at the club which offered him an opportunity.

But an offer to train full-time and potentially earn a crack at the NRL proved too hard to resist, with Lui-Toso moving to Sydney to link with St George Illawarra on a one-year deal.

“I told myself I wouldn’t leave unless there was a full-time deal on the table,” Lui-Toso told the Cairns Post. “A few clubs offered deals with NRL trials but I wasn’t going for that.

“This opportunity came up and I couldn’t turn it down.

“I loved my time in Cairns, I’ll probably come back here.”

Nick Lui-Toso has secured a one-year deal at the Dragons. Picture: Brian Cassey

Lui-Toso will train full-time as part of his “lower top 30” deal, providing him the opportunity to earn a NRL debut in 2023.

It brings to an end his time at the Pride, where he made a massive impact in the front row.

Lui-Toso was among the stars of a monster Pride pack in his first season at the club in 2021, forming a strong combination with re-signed prop Paea Pua and star second-rower Joshua Stuckey as the men leading from the front.

The departure of Stuckey to the Bulldogs left the role of forwards leader ripe for the taking, with Lui-Toso taking the chance with both hands.

The 26-year-old smashed the 200 running metres barrier four times and reached triple figures in all but three of his 17 games for the Pride.

His ability to bend and break the line — he recorded more than 100 post contact metres three times — often put the Pride on the front foot in attack, while his strong defensive work in the middle sent ballrunners scrambling in another direction.

-Townsville Bulletin

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