NRL transfer news: Bulldogs eye another half, Warriors sign Chad Townsend, manager coy on Blake Ferguson’s next move

The Canterbury Bulldogs have moved on to a fresh target after missing out on key signing target Shaun Johnson.

The Warriors want to sign Cronulla's Chad Townsend immediately.

Canterbury star Nick Cotric believes former Canberra teammate Aidan Sezer belongs in the NRL and wants to see the playmaker in the blue and white of the Bulldogs in 2022.

The Bulldogs missed out on the signature of Shaun Johnson after the Cronulla halfback signed a two-year deal with the Warriors, opting to return home to New Zealand next season.

Cotric is hoping Sezer, who is currently plying his trade for Huddersfield in the English Super League, will have a similar homecoming.

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Sezer made his NRL debut for the Gold Coast Titans in 2012 but is a Canterbury local junior and was born and raised in Bankstown, having played his junior football for the East Hills Bulldogs.

“He’s a local junior, it’s his home. He knows a lot of the players already. Aidan and our captain Josh Jackson played in the under 20s together too,” Cotric told The Daily Telegraph.

“I know he loves the club and that he has always wanted to play for the Bulldogs.

“He’s talked about playing for us, that he would love to put that Doggies jersey on in the NRL.”

Canterbury have suggested the club would now turn its attention to signing a middle forward after missing out on Johnson.

But The Daily Telegraph understands one of the reasons the club wanted to sign Johnson was for added experience and mentorship in the halves.

Aidan Sezer kicks the winning field goal against the Cronulla Sharks.

Coach Trent Barrett already has Brandon Wakeham, Jake Averrillo and Kyle Flanagan in his halves stocks with boom Penrith playmaker Matt Burton set to arrive next season. But collectively the playmakers only have 102 NRL games to their names.

Cotric believes Sezer, who helped guide Canberra to its first grand final appearance in 25 years in 2019, would be an invaluable asset to the side’s young halves.

“He’s an old head and knows how to control a game,” Cotric said.

“He helped us at Canberra to a grand final. I remember that game against Canterbury when he came back from injury, we beat them because of his kicking game. He kicked three field goals for us to beat Cronulla at the end of the season. He was killing it in the NRL before he left and he’s been playing well over there for Hudderfield too.”

As well as Burton, Canterbury will welcome Melbourne flyer Josh Addo-Carr and Penrith outside back Brent Naden in 2022.

“The signings that we have coming in next year will make a huge difference, I really feel like there are some exciting times ahead for the club,” Cotric said.

Aidan Sezer during his time with Canberra Raiders. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Titans eye Kiwi forward

David Riccio

The Titans are looking to add even further punch to their already impressive forward pack by signing Kiwi international Isaac Liu.

The hard-running Roosters prop is off-contract at the end of this season and it’s the Gold Coast that have emerged as serious contenders to lure him out of Bondi.

The Titans have tabled a three-year offer for the 30-year-old, who was scouted by the Roosters from famed rugby league feeder-school, Keebra Park, on the Gold Coast.

Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook wants Liu to spearhead his already loaded-pack that includes David Fifita, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Mo Fotuaika, Kevin Proctor, Jarrod Wallace and Herman Ese’ese.

Liu has proven a mainstay of the Roosters pack since making his NRL debut with the club in 2013.

The two-time premiership-winner has played 191 first grade games, eight Tests for the Kiwis and five appearances for Samoa.

Clubs queue for Fergo

Fatima Kdouh

Premiership winner Blake Ferguson “will not be without a club” in season 2022, as the winger fights for his NRL future from the NSW Cup.

Parramatta coach Brad Arthur dropped Ferguson after the Eels’ round 12 loss to South Sydney but that hasn’t dampened interest in the flyer both in the NRL and in the 15-man game.

“The positive with Fergo at the moment is that there is interest, the interest has been genuine too,” Ferguson’s manager Sam Ayoub said.

“Like with anything, we have a number of factors to consider. But Fergo has not been kicking stones, his form in reserve grade not only proves that but has also been outstanding.

“People that know Fergo know what he brings to the table and he won’t be without a club for 2022, whether it be in the NRL or in rugby.”

Blake Ferguson is on the lookout for a new NRL club. Picture: Getty Images

Given Ferguson’s decent form to start the season — which had him in the frame for Origin selection — and his strong showing in reserve grade in the past three weeks, his continued omission from Arthur’s NRL outfit has raised eyebrows.

Ayoub would not be drawn into any of the speculation over his client’s axing other than to say he is confident Ferguson would secure a deal for season 2022.

Arthur dropped Ferguson, who joined Parramatta in 2019, for round 13 after the Eels lost two in a row against Manly and the Rabbitohs. Following the Rabbitohs loss, Arthur conceded centre Waqa Blake and Ferguson were not working as a defensive combination.

Since dropping to reserve grade three weeks ago, Ferguson has been one of the Eels’ best in NSW Cup, averaging 176 metres a game.

But that hasn’t been enough to earn a recall into Arthur’s outfit, leaving Ferguson, a former NSW and Kangaroos representative, to fight for his future from reserve grade.

Arthur blooded rising rookie Sean Russell on the edge, overlooking Ferguson, as Maika Sivo’s replacement last weekend against Canterbury.

A code switch is also shaping as a possibility for Ferguson after Perth-based rugby franchise Western Force approached Ayoub to enquire about Ferguson’s services, which included an off-field role helping to develop Indigenous players.

“We’re comfortable with where that is at,” Ayoub said. “It will be a week or two before anything more happens but we are absolutely considering it.”

Elsewhere, South Sydney officials are planning to meet with centre Dane Gagai about his future at the club next week as the chase for the 30-year old’s signature heats up.

The Redfern club have expressed a desire to retain Gagai but the veteran back has also drawn interest from the likes of the Eels and, more recently, the Brisbane Broncos have joined the race.

The retention of Gagai is more than likely to squeeze fellow Maroons and forward Jaydn Su’a out of the Rabbitohs, as the club navigates a tight salary cap for season 2022.

The off-contract star is in Queensland camp on the Gold Coast ahead of State of Origin game two at Brisbane’s Suncorp Oval.

Townsend secures release to join NRL rival

By David Riccio

Chad Townsend is a Warrior — again.

The Sharks premiership-winning halfback has played his last game for the club that he grew up supporting after securing a release to join the Warriors immediately.

Townsend’s first game for the Warriors will be against the Dragons next Friday before facing the Sharks in round 17.

The Warriors have paid around $250,000 to take over the remainder of Townsend’s 2021 contract. In effect, the Sharks will shave the six-figures from their salary cap to spend elsewhere.

The Sharks stopped short of including a clause that blocked Townsend from playing against them in coming weeks.

Chad Townsend has secured an immediate release to join the Warriors for the rest of the season.

The Warriors have signed Townsend to play the remainder of this season — the same club he played with in 2014-2015 — before linking with the Cowboys on a three-year deal from 2022.

The Sharks are scheduled to play the Warriors twice — in round 17 and round 21.

A player-swap wasn’t discussed during the negotiations.

Warriors coach Nathan Brown personally spoke to Townsend, 30, about becoming the club’s organising halfback. The Warriors have first-choice half Chanel Harris-Tevita (pectoral) and utility option Paul Turner (shoulder) out for the season.

Townsend has spent the past two weeks playing for the Newtown Jets in the NSW Cup, with Sharks coach Josh Hannay preferring Matt Moylan and Shaun Johnson as the club’s starting halves in first grade.

Moylan and Johnson have helped conjure four straight wins for the Sharks since being selected as a combination.

Chad Townsend has been played reserve grade for the Newtown Jets. Picture: Tim Hunter.

A Cronulla local junior, Townsend’s preference was to finish the season at the Sharks, but not at the cost of finishing in reserve grade with the club that he won a premiership with in 2016.

Townsend played 146 games for the Sharks and will forever be remembered as the club’s only halfback to win a premiership.

The Warriors believe the experience and kicking-game of Townsend will be a perfect foil for five-eighth Kodi Nikorima, while also keeping the club’s finals hopes alive.

The Sharks also have promising halfback Braydon Trindall and utility Connor Tracey as halves options, should an injury to Moylan or Johnson arise.