Sport Confidential: David Fifita exit has cashed up Titans chasing Sam Walker
The Titans have $1 million of David Fifita contract money to spend and a playmaking hole to fill, Fletch and Hindy bringing the ‘biff’ to The Caxton and more in Sport Confidential.
The Titans are watching Sam Walker’s contract situation at the Roosters closely.
Now that David Fifita has confirmed he will quit the Titans and move to Sydney next season, the Gold Coast will have an extra $1 million in their coffers to spend and that would put them in the box seat to have a big-money crack at Walker.
The Roosters playmaker is off-contract at the end of next year and could test his value from November 1 if he opts to go to free agency.
Walker is happy at the Roosters and the club is keen to extend him, but as an Ipswich product, he is a Queensland kid at heart.
The Titans have been linked with Jahrome Hughes but that appears unlikely with the Storm opening talks to keep the Kiwi Test star in Melbourne until 2029.
The Titans have yet to make an offer for Walker but the 21-year-old sensation is on their recruitment radar.
Gold Coast has also been linked to Rabbitohs halfback Dean Hawkins in recent weeks as Des Hasler mulls his future playmaking combinations.
HOLBROOK DENIES TITANIC PAYBACK
There is an interesting subplot to the Roosters’ pursuit of David Fifita.
Former Titans coach Justin Holbrook is the chief assistant to Roosters head coach Trent Robinson.
In his previous Titans contract, Fifita had a clause inserted which made him a free agent in the event Holbrook was sacked.
That happened in June last year, thrusting Fifita on to the open market and forcing the Titans back to the negotiating table, where they agreed to insert the infamous round 10 clause.
Fifita obviously has a high opinion of Holbrook, so much so that he had the coach written into his contract.
We reached out to Holbrook this week to see if he was playing a role in luring Fifita to Bondi as a form of payback.
He denied that was the case and insisted he was staying well clear of the Roosters’ bid to sign the Queensland Origin star.
BRISBANE BRINGS BACK THE BIFF
Brisbane is about to be flooded by a sea of Reg and Regina Reagans.
A special party for the infamous Matty Johns character from the halcyon days of The Footy Show will be held at The Caxton during Magic Round next weekend.
Only 150 people that must be dressed as Reagan will be allowed into the ticketed event, which has been bombarded with interest since its announcement.
Fox League’s Brian Fletcher and Nathan Hindmarsh will also be on hand for the party.
“It’s going to be an absolute laugh,” Fletch said.
“We’re bringing the full 80s vibes, think arm-wrestling challenges, drinks and plenty of banter.
“We love coming up to Brisbane and it’s great to be back at the Caxton.”
The beer bellies and mullets will be in full swing just a stone’s throw from Suncorp Stadium from 3-5pm next Saturday.
“Brisbane, it’s time to unleash your inner Reg Reagan,” Hindy said.
“We’ll be giving away prizes for the best dressed. Plus, also raising some funds for Men of League, so get down there.”
NRL’S BLOWOUT WARNING
Inaugural ARL Commission chairman John Grant says he has concerns about the risk of scoreline blowouts following the NRL’s decision to expand to 17 teams.
While the addition of the Dolphins has been hailed a resounding success, there is debate over whether the code has the talent levels to sustain 17 clubs _ and a possible 18th franchise in the coming years.
During the Anzac round a fortnight ago, the Roosters flogged the Dragons 60-18, Melbourne smashed Souths 54-20 and Cronulla routed the Raiders 40-0.
Grant says current ARLC boss Peter V’landys is doing an outstanding job delivering an attractive game, but says the code must be mindful of wild scoreline swings.
“Just watching the games in recent years, I get a bit concerned with margins in games,” he said.
“We used to look at the average margin across all games over the year and keeping it within the 6-to-7 point range was ideal to create the expectation that your team can win on any given day.
“Some of the scores have been spectacular in terms of who might win by 30 points and who might lose by 30 points the next week.
“It’s been so unpredictable, but the way that momentum is allowed to build up in the game now, we have to be careful we don’t create too many one-sided games because that’s not how you develop a fan base.”
EX-BRONCOS RULE THE ROOST
They are the ex-Broncos Academy young guns leading a Bondi revolution.
Roosters enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargreaves may be moving on at season’s end, but the Chooks’ front-row stocks are in safe hands thanks to monster brothers Xavier and De La Salle Va’a.
Former Queensland Origin under-19s skipper Xavier, 20, is on the comeback trail from shoulder surgery and partnered Roosters’ NSW Cup skipper Dylan Napa in last week’s clash against North Sydney.
Meanwhile, Xavier’s younger brother De La Salle made his NSW Cup debut in the same game at 18 _ just weeks after turning out for the Roosters’ SG Ball junior representative side.
The scary part is that De La Salle is already 194cm and 115kg, bigger than his older brother Xavier, who is also a hulking presence at 193cm and 116kg.
The Toowoomba products came through the Broncos Academy and are on the road to NRL selection at the Roosters, who poached the Va’a brothers from Brisbane in 2021.
“They come from a great family,” said their manager Shaun Pyne.
“Their mum is a doctor and both boys are highly academic - De La Salle also wants to become a doctor.
“The opportunity to be mentored by Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was a huge factor in their decision to go there.
“The Roosters are a great club and they are getting a great education.”
PENRITH PLAY TRUMP CARD IN RACE TO RECRUIT FIFITA
The NRL’s No. 1 player, Nathan Cleary, has emerged as a key figure in Penrith’s poaching bid for Titans star David Fifita.
The chance for Fifita to join forces with Cleary was a central plank in Penrith officials’ pitch to the Queensland Origin back-rower as he weighs up his future at the Titans.
The revelation comes as Fifita’ former Broncos colleague, Tevita Pangai Jr, who had a stint at Penrith in their 2021 premiership charge, urged his good mate to quit the Titans and don Panthers colours.
The Roosters have also weighed in with a four-year, $3.4 million offer for Fifita but Penrith are playing their biggest trump card in Cleary.
Fifita, 24, has traditionally played on the left edge but he has also had stints on the right side and the Panthers are prepared to play him there to form a lethal attacking strike-force with champion halfback Cleary.
Back-row powerhouse Viliame Kikau was lethal on Penrith’s left edge before his move to the Bulldogs and the Panthers believe Fifita can have a similar impact to the Fijian sensation working in tandem with Cleary.
Cleary is the best halfback in world rugby league and if anyone can provide service to get Fifita firing regularly, it’s the Panthers maestro.
That’s the message Penrith powerbrokers have given Fifita, who at age 24 is still maturing as a forward despite his big-game experience playing Test football for Tonga and Origin for Queensland.
At club level, Fifita has struggled to consistently strike a partnership with a ball-playing playmaker to capitalise on his line-busting ability.
Fifita has previously worked with playmakers such as Kodi Nikorima, Anthony Milford, Jamal Fogarty, Tom Dearden and Brodie Croft.
At the Titans last season, Fifita had some promising moments running off premiership pivot Kieran Foran. But the Titans’ current halfback, Tanah Boyd, is simply not in the same league as Cleary, who would be an attractive lure for any prospective Penrith recruit.
Pangai Jr played alongside Cleary following his mid-season move to Penrith three years ago and says the Panthers No. 7 was the hardest-working player he has ever seen.
Pangai Jr recalls Cleary being the last player on the paddock an hour after everyone else had finished training and believes the inconsistent Fifita would fulfil his potential in the Penrith system.
“I’m not a Penrith man but if I was Dave Fifita I would go to a strong club like Penrith with great players and a good coach,” Pangai Jr said.
“I think it would be great for David Fifita to go to Penrith.
“People have questioned if he would fit into their system but Billy Slater wouldn’t pick him in his (Queensland) Origin team if Dave couldn’t do the little one percenters that Penrith are built on.
“If he goes down there and buys into their culture ... they aren’t all about stats and carries and running 200 metres for super coach scores.
“They are about defensive efforts and off-the-ball work.
“I think Fifita has the creativity with the ball but he would go to another level at the Penrith Panthers.
“It’s tough when you are losing like the Titans. There’s only some guys who can turn up week in, week out when you are down in the trenches.
“Some guys no matter what the result will turn up, like a Payne Haas and Josh Jackson, but it would be a good move for Dave to go to the Panthers.”
BILLY’S BADGER BLAST
Queensland Origin coach Billy Slater has launched a stinging attack on “coward” critics of NRL referees in the wake of drama surrounding female official Kasey Badger.
There were calls for Badger to be axed following her performance in last week’s drama-charged clash between the Bulldogs and Wests Tigers, with irate fans hurling abuse at one of the code’s trailblazing female whistleblowers.
But Slater is sick of the pile-on and backed Badger as he challenged armchair critics to have the courage to take up officiating themselves.
“If you think you can do a better job go and do it, go and put your hand up to referee,” the Maroons mentor said on The Billy Slater podcast.
“Don’t go on social media and be a coward and abuse someone.
“If you think you can do better than the person that you are having a go at, then go and put the boots on, grab a whistle and if you are having a go at a player, put the boots on and play the game.
“You have no right to abuse anyone.
“The referees do a fantastic job, if we don’t have referees, we don’t have a game.
“To sit behind a computer or a phone and abuse someone for a mistake they made because they are having a go, I see that as a coward’s act.”
PANTHERS ON VEGAS PROWL
It’s official. The Panthers are heading to Sin City.
Sport Confidential understands three-time premiers Penrith will be the first club locked in for the second instalment of the NRL’s return to Las Vegas in 2025.
The NRL is in the advanced stages of finalising the next quartet to travel to America after pioneers the Broncos, Roosters, Manly and South Sydney made history at Allegiant Stadium this year.
The Panthers won’t play a single home game in 2025 due to a $309 million redevelopment of BlueBet Stadium and that puts Penrith in the box seat to be one of two ‘home’ teams in Vegas.
The Storm, Warriors and Cronulla are others in the mix to join Penrith, although Wayne Bennett’s Dolphins, who lodged an expression of interest, are tipped to miss out.
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