NRL market watch: Off-contract Jack Williams wants to stay at Sharks, Shaq Mitchell offered fresh Rabbitohs deal, Jai Arrow set for injury return
Off-contract Sharks forward Jack Williams has made it clear he wants to stay at the club amid a salary cap crunch, while Souths have tabled an offer to keep Shaq Mitchell at the club. MARKET WATCH.
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Sharks power forward Jack Williams has declared he would be shattered to leave the club as he edges towards crunch time over his future.
The off-contract and underrated Williams is the last remaining forward inside a highly-performing Shark pack that remains without a deal beyond this season.
Cronulla have a salary cap juggling act to perform with a deep middle forward rotation that is spearheaded by Cameron McInnes, Dale Finucane, Toby Rudolf, Oregon Kaufusi, Braden Hamlin-Uele, Tom Hazelton, Royce Hunt, Tuku Hau Tapuha, Williams and will be further boosted by the arrival of marquee prop Addin Fonua-Blake next year.
A mainstay of the Sharks pack during their superb start to the 2024 season, Williams will look to provide his trademark punch and power against the Cowboys at PointsBet Stadium on Sunday.
The clash is a crucial home game for Cronulla and so too Williams, who has kept a simple philosophy towards blocking the thought of leaving the Sharks from his mind.
“I obviously want to stay. I love it here,‘’ Williams said.
“The group we’ve got is unreal and the culture is amazing. If there’s (salary cap) room for me, I definitely want to stay.
“If I have to leave, there’ll be no hard feelings, but my main priority is to stay here.
“Especially the way we’re going, I feel like we’re building towards something.
“I have been focusing on week to week and playing and that’s been working well.
“My (pregnant) partner is probably more stressed than I am with a bub on the way.
“But there’s nothing I can really do except playing footy and playing well.”
An unabashed fan of Williams, Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon values the 27-year-old’s high work-rate, which so far this season has produced 100-metres per-game, eight tackle busts in six games and just over 27 tackle per-game.
Having made his NRL debut with the Sharks in 2018, Williams said the competition for spots in the pack was like he’d never previously experienced and that as a result, he could sense the Sharks were on a path he was reluctant to sway from.
“It’s definitely healthy competition in the forwards,” Williams said.
“It pushes us all. We know it’s going to force some of us back down to NSW Cup, but everyone is good about it.
“We’ve seen Brades (Hamlin-Uele) go back and start there and now Royce (Hunt) is starting his comeback from injury there.
“It’s good for the club. We’ve got a lot of depth.
“The club is definitely on the up with good sponsors and the development around the club, but the main thing is the development of the team and the staff, its super strong.
“It would be an understatement to say that I’d be sad to leave.”
MITCHELL OFFERED CONTRACT EXTENSION, ARROW POISED FOR BUNNIES RETURN
-Michael Carayannis and David Riccio
South Sydney have tabled a two-year contract extension to Shaq Mitchell as Jai Arrow prepares to make a much needed comeback for the struggling Rabbitohs.
Mitchell is in the midst of contract talks with South Sydney as the Rabbitohs try to extend the prop’s deal out until the end of 2026.
It has been a remarkable rise for Mitchell who was on the rugby league scrapheap but has revitalised his career.
The older brother of fullback Latrell made his long awaited NRL debut in 2022 and has since gone on to play 17 top grade games for the club.
The Rabbitohs are keen on keeping the 28-year-old.
Aside from Mitchell, South Sydney still have a host of other players off-contract including Dean Hawkins, Isaiah Tass, Izaac Thompson, Leon Te Hau, Michael Chee Kam and Taane Milne.
Veteran prop Tom Burgess is heading to Warrington at the end of the season.
They have re-signed forward Ben Lovett for a further 12 months while Thomas Fletcher will jump into the top 30 next year.
Mitchell’s contract talks come as the Rabbitohs deal with a growing casualty ward.
Prop Tevita Tatola will miss at least the next three months but South Sydney’s Queensland forward Arrow is aiming to play against the Storm on Thursday night.
Arrow has been sidelined since round one after injuring his shoulder in Las Vegas.
There were fears the injury could keep Arrow out for the rest of the season but he has spent the past six weeks in rehabilitation in a bid to delay inevitable surgery.
It is understood that Arrow has trained well in recent days and indications are that he will be take his place for the Rabbitohs against the Storm.
It is a timely inclusion for a battling Rabbitohs team who – aside from Tatola – will also be without Latrell Mitchell, Tyrell Munro, Alex Johnston, Campbell Graham and Lachlan Ilias for the clash.
TITANS LOOK TO BROWN FOR NEXT GENERATION
- Dean Ritchie
Gold Coast is poised to sign former St George Illawarra coach Nathan Brown as the club’s pathways co-ordinator.
Brown held a similar position at Parramatta, having previously coached at the Dragons and the Warriors.
Brown and the Titans have held discussions but no agreement has been reached. Gold Coast management is hopeful a deal can be struck soon.
With the Titans currently winless heading into Saturday’s anticipated clash against Manly, the club is looking to shore up its on-field future.
And they’re hopeful that will include the input of Brown, who spent two years at the Eels where he led a review into the club’s pathways program and supported its NRLW side.
The Titans and Brown have been linked for several months now, but a deal is almost certain to eventuate after Brown moved to the Gold Coast at the end of last season.
PANTHERS FIGHTING TO KEEP CLEARY
- Brent Read and Michael Carayannis
Penrith are working on a long-term extension for Jett Cleary as they look to keep the younger brother of halfback Nathan and son of coach Ivan out of the clutches of the Warriors.
Panthers sources confirmed on Friday morning that the club was keen to keep the teenager, who has been a star in lower grades.
The Warriors, buoyed by their successful pursuit of Penrith prop James Fisher-Harris, are believed to be interested in Jett Cleary but Penrith are determined to hold onto a player earmarked to eventually join his brother in the halves.
The Warriors are well equipped in the halves but Shaun Johnson is closer to the end than the beginning of his career and Jett Cleary’s signature would help prepare them for Johnson’s eventual retirement.
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