Parramatta salary cap: Which Eel would suit cashed-up Titans?

THE Gold Coast Titans are interested in signing Parramatta’s offloads as Nathan Peats and Semi Radradra loom as the players shipped out in a fire sale.

THE Gold Coast Titans are interested in signing Parramatta’s off-loads as Nathan Peats and Semi Radradra loom as the players shipped out in a fire sale.

The Eels are $570,000 over the cap while the Titans are around $800,000 under the cap.

The Titans, Knights and the Roosters are the only clubs with cap room to accommodate Eels players and they could get them for a bargain price in time for Round 10.

Nathan Peats could be wearing a different shade of blue and gold.

The Titans are still shopping for an outside back for this season while they also need front-rowers and a dynamic hooker.

The Eels have hired former NRL salary cap auditor Ian Schubert to fix the club’s cap by Round 10.

While Eels veteran Anthony Watmough is almost certain to be retired in order to bring down their $570,000 cap blowout, Parramatta will need at least one other player to leave because more than half of Watmough’s salary this year has been paid.

Peats or Radradra have been heavily linked to move so the club can become cap compliant and begin playing for competition points.

Radradra is the Eels most popular player and the club would be very reluctant to release him but his third party deals are among those scrutinised by the NRL.

Gold Coast chief executive Graham Annesley told The Courier-Mail the Titans had not made contact with Parramatta but they could be interested in players they put on the market.

Peats, a dynamic hooker who has been a star of the Eels season, or Radradra would be major assets for the struggling Titans.

However, Konrad Hurrell is now a legitimate option for the Gold Coast with the Warriors last week admitting they were open to him finding another club.

Hurrell attacked Warriors coach Andrew McFadden on Twitter last week and the club has since spoken to his manager about moving him on.

The Titans were interested in Hurrell earlier this year but the Warriors refused to release him.

Radradra must be considering his future while in Kangaroos camp.

“We have room to move in the cap and we are interested in suitable players but we won’t be talking to anyone from the Eels until they say who they are prepared to release,” Annesley said.

“Neil (Henry) has also said he wanted to wait for the right player and that is still the case. We won’t be buying a player for the sake of it.”

The Titans had always targeted the rep round to bring new players in. The Titans have lost six of their nine games this season and sit 13th on the ladder. They need more talent right now.

Originally published as Parramatta salary cap: Which Eel would suit cashed-up Titans?