Five NRL clubs in the hunt for CJ Mundine, the son of former rugby league star and boxing world champion Anthony Mundine

Five NRL clubs are circling CJ Mundine with one Sydney team edging closer to landing the son of former Dragons star and boxing champion Anthony.

Anthony "Choc" Mundine and with his son CJ who has recently signed with St George. Photo Jeremy Piper

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Souths Sydney have emerged as the front runners to poach rising NRL prospect CJ Mundine, the teenage son of former rugby league star and boxing world champion Anthony Mundine.

The Daily Telegraph spotted CJ and his father at Redfern where they met with Rabbitohs officials on Thursday afternoon in a Chalmers Street cafe.

The 18-year-old has spent the last two seasons playing with Mundine’s former side St George Illawarra and starred in this year’s SG Ball competition for the Dragons.

If the Dragons can keep CJ at the club, he is poised to one day play in the same No.6 jumper his dad famously wore in 115 games for the club.

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Anthony Mundine and CJ’s manager were spotted at Redfern.

But the Red V are facing a battle to retain CJ - who can play either in the outside backs or in the halves.

Besides South Sydney, three other clubs including Canberra, Canterbury and the Gold Coast Titans are pursuing CJ’s signature for season 2020.

Mundine said that while he still harbours a soft spot for the Dragons, the growing interest from rivals is likely to see CJ end up elsewhere.

“I have a soft spot for the Dragons, they’re my junior club. I played Harold Matthews, SG Ball, Jersey Flegg and made my debut in 1993 there. I have a long history with the Dragons and I’d love to see my son perform there but he has to make the right decision for him,” he said.

Mundine the younger is a flashy and confident playmaker. Picture by Bryden Sharp.

The ‘Mundine’ name won’t be the only thing to stoke a sense of nostalgia in league fans. The former playmaker said his son possess many of the same attributes he did as a footballer.

“I do see similarities, especially when he is playing with a bit of confidence and he has the mojo going. He’s very similar to me. He runs like me, he’s got good vision and he’s got good footwork. He’s explosive,” Mundine said.

Regardless of where CJ ends up, Mundine knows his son’s chance at an NRL debut has as much to do with hard work as it does his natural ability.

“It all depends on what club he goes to and what their system looks like for young fellas coming through...there could be an injury and that opens up the door for a chance at a debut. But he’s going to have to force his hand and play out of his skin,” Mundine said.

Mundine was a star at the Dragons in the 1990s.

“He has the ability, he has to make the right choice and work hard and that’s something I have embedded in him. I’m looking forward to what is in stall for him.”

In April, Mundine announced his return to the football field 19 years after his last game for the Dragons in 2000. In a fairy tale moment for Mundine he played alongside CJ for the Matraville Tigers at Erskineville Oval in July.

“We played against Coogee and he won man of the match that game, he outdid me the lad. “But I had been out for many years. For me it was about playing with my boy and to tick that box,” Mundine said.

As well as helping his son navigate through contract negotiations, Mundine, 44, is stepping back into the ring next month.

Mundine is fighting kickboxing great John Wayne Parr at CBus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast on November 30.