NRL 2024: Nov 1 free agency period looms and the longer the Roosters wait, the harder it will be to retain Sam Walker

The November 1 free agency deadline is looming and Roosters playmaker Sam Walker will be sought-after. But whether he stays at the club will rely heavily on the contract of ever-reliable captain James Tedesco, writes BRENT READ.

The Sydney Roosters want Sam Walker to stay. From all reports, Walker is loving life at the Roosters as well. The rest should be easy.

Sit down, haggle over his value and strike a deal. The longer the talks drag on between Walker and the Roosters, however, the more difficult it is likely to get.

November 1 is looming fast and Walker will be free to field formal offers from rival clubs from that day on. Clubs and agents insist that we in the media make too much about deadline day.

It’s not as if agents are suddenly inundated with offers from midnight. Or that recruitment bosses sit at their computer, wait for the clock to tick over and then shoot off contracts left, right and centre.

It is significant though because from November 1, any interest in the likes of Walker can enter the public domain. No more smoke and mirrors.

It will all be out in the open and Walker will be among the most coveted players on the open market if the Roosters are unable to get a deal done before then.

It will take something special to prise him from the Roosters. Earlier this year in an interview with this masthead, he spoke about the Roosters as his home.

He insisted he wanted a long career at the club and there has been no inkling that he is unhappy. Walker seemingly knows his worth though.

Art by Boo Bailey

A two-year extension valued at $1.8 million hasn’t got the job done and it may take seven figures a season to lock him away.

He isn’t the only big name ready to hit the market on November 1. Melbourne’s Ryan Papenhuyzen and Harry Grant – the latter has an option in his favour – are about to enter the final year of their deals. The smart money suggests both will stay.

Talks with Papenhuyzen seem to be progressing well and Grant is expected to take up his option for next season before doing a new deal at the Storm.

Brisbane are trying to retain Kotoni Staggs. Picture: Matt Roberts/Getty Images

The Broncos will have their hands full with Kotoni Staggs and Selwyn Cobbo – it’s likely they will only be able to keep one of the pair.

Cronulla’s finals campaign will kick off with a cloud over as many as five of their key players – Cameron McInnes, Briton Nikora, Ronaldo Mulitalo, Will Kennedy and Teig Wilton.

Manly have a big call to make on Daly Cherry-Evans.

Newcastle are moving pieces and life won’t get any easier on November 1 as the likes of Jackson Hastings, Kai Pearce-Paul and Leo Thompson hit the open market.

Parramatta tied up a significant loose end when they re-signed J’Mayne Hopgood this week but Bryce Cartwright and Clint Gutherson need to be retained.

In Gutherson’s case, rival clubs have shown an interest. Eels coach Jason Ryles wants to keep King Gutho though and there is every chance they do a deal once the season is over.

Daly Cherry-Evans wants a long contract. Picture: Brett Hemmings/Getty Images

The most intriguing is at the Roosters and it isn’t necessarily Walker.

Captain James Tedesco is about to enter the final year of his big-money deal on November 1 and he will turn 32 in January.

Tedesco is on big money and he has justified every cent with his form again this season.

The Roosters No.1 is as reliable as a Swiss watch. At some point though, there will be an expectation that he takes a little less to ensure the club can put a side around him.

Cherry-Evans and Ben Hunt have done likewise in recent years. Nathan Cleary took a hit in the pocket in his latest deal to help ensure the Panthers remained premiership contenders.

Tedesco has earned a good living for a long time but the day is coming when the dollars will shift to other players at the club, Walker among them.

So November 1 may not be that significant in the eyes of many. But try telling that to the players and clubs who have so much to gain and lose when the clock ticks over.

*****

If you listen to the South Sydney critics, Latrell Mitchell has been hit with a wet lettuce leaf by the club over the white substance scandal.

Many of those very same critics point to the Mitchell Pearce ban from eight years, when the then-Sydney Roosters star was slugged with a $125,000 fine and eight-match ban over his antics on Australia Day.

Those people are missing the point.

Former NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg later conceded that the penalty was over the top and there is an acknowledgment across the game that it was excessive.

It is not the standard for NRL sanctions. Not even close. That argument is flawed.

The more accurate comparison is the sanctions handed out to the likes of Cameron Munster, Brandon Smith and Valentine Holmes after they were caught in a similar situation to Mitchell.

In comparison to those, Souths sanctions stack up. The Rabbitohs and NRL hit Mitchell with a significant fine and made it very clear to the Souths superstar that the clock was ticking.

It is understood an emotional Mitchell understood the gravitas of the situation when he fronted Rabbitohs powerbrokers.

There was also an acknowledgment that his response to the media outside Souths headquarters immediately after the board meeting could have been handled better.

Hence the social media missive that was delivered by Mitchell a few hours later. He said all the right things but actions speak louder than words.

As for Souths, they have been widely criticised for their handling of the matter but convening a board as high-powered as the Rabbitohs isn’t as simple as it might sound.

It takes time and the Rabbitohs have been slammed by some for allowing the saga to linger. They were also conscious of following all the protocols given the gravity of the situation.

The true test for Souths and Mitchell will be what happens next should he put another foot out of line. He has an $80,000 suspended fine hanging over his head but the sense is that will be the least of his problems should he transgress again.

Originally published as NRL 2024: Nov 1 free agency period looms and the longer the Roosters wait, the harder it will be to retain Sam Walker