David Fifita linked with two NRL rivals after Titans axing saga
Titans forward David Fifita may have played his last game for the club, with the dropped star’s relationship with the club becoming untenable.
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Titans forward David Fifita may have played his last game for the club, with the dropped star reportedly shopped to rival clubs since his axing from first grade.
Code Sports reported Fifita has been shopped to rival clubs in a sign that his relationship with Des Hasler and the club has all but become untenable.
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Fifita’s future has been up in the air since he was axed by Hasler for Magic Round after a bizarre request to play on the left in Beau Fermor’s spot saw him dumped to reserve grade.
The former Queensland Origin star turned out for the Jets last week in a loss that saw them score zero points, while the Titans lost their fifth straight game to the Bulldogs in the NRL.
Fifita has since been sidelined with an ankle injury that saw him seek a specialist’s opinion on an injury he has been battling since undergoing surgery last year.
Code Sports confirmed at least two NRL clubs have been informally sounded out about their potential interest in Fifita.
The clubs have been told he is willing to take a pay cut to leave the Titans.
The Titans said they had not formally granted Fifita permission to speak with rivals, but his future has been a talking point among NRL clubs recently.
“Dave is an important part of the roster,” Titans chief executive Steve Mitchell said.
“We expect him to have a big role to play moving forward.”
Fifita, 25, is contracted to the Titans until the end of 2026 on a deal worth about $1 million per season after backflipping on a deal to join the Roosters last year.
After reneging on the Roosters deal, Fifita failed to score a try for the Titans in the final 10 games of the 2024 season and was axed by Queensland coach Billy Slater.
Fifita has been benched in four of six NRL games this season, further increasing tension with Hasler.
Prior to re-signing with the Titans, Fifita was linked to a potential return to the Broncos, but their salary cap issues makes a return to Red Hill highly unlikely.
Fifita was also linked to the Raiders before recommitting to the Titans and could be a replacement for Josh Papali’i when he retires, given most people see a move to the front row as inevitable for Fifita to get his career back on track.
It is a stunning fall from grace for the 25-year-old who was regarded as the brightest forward prospect in the game while at the Broncos, which saw him ink a record Titans deal worth $1.5 million a season for three years in 2021.
However, after 50 tries in 132 games for the Broncos and Titans, Fifita’s promising career is now at a crossroads heading into the second half of his 20s.
Fifita has played eight Origins for Queensland since 2019 and four Tests for Tonga to date.
Originally published as David Fifita linked with two NRL rivals after Titans axing saga
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