By Dan Walsh
Cronulla have secured one of the biggest signing coups in the club’s recent history by landing Warriors prop Addin Fonua-Blake on a four-year deal from 2025.
Fonua-Blake, rated one of the best front-rowers in the world, has knocked back a $4.5 million dollar approach by his former club St George Illawarra to link with the Sharks.
The Warriors set the player market alight when they announced they would grant the Tonga skipper a release, from 2025, on compassionate grounds.
The release was contingent on Fonua-Blake joining a Sydney club to be closer to his parents, prompting Dragons coach Shane Flanagan to go all in for the Dally M prop of the year.
Both Canterbury and Wests Tigers also met with Fonua-Blake. The Tigers made their own four-year offer, which was subsequently withdrawn by interim CEO Shane Richardson after last week’s overhaul of club management.
Addin Fonua-Blake has emerged as one of the game’s premier props in recent years.Credit: Getty
The Sharks’ recent moves to free up salary cap space following the departures of Matt Moylan (Leigh) and Connor Tracey (Bulldogs) allowed them to enter the market with real significance for the first time since coach Craig Fitzgibbon’s initial signing spree in 2021.
Since then, Cronulla had barely made a move in the transfer market.
But Fonua-Blake’s eventual arrival will rank as the biggest name signed during Fitzgibbon’s time, given star halfback Nicho Hynes rose to true prominence in his first season in the Shire.
“Addin is a world-class front-rower and we are delighted to be adding him to our roster from 2025,” Fitzgibbon said.
“Throughout the negotiation process we have been impressed by his attitude, his genuine desire to help make the Sharks successful and to complement and work alongside both those in our leadership group and the young forwards we have coming through our system”.
Fonua-Blake has stressed his commitment to the Warriors in 2024 over the past few months and reportedly reiterated that when telling his teammates of his next move on Tuesday.
The Warriors have also been firm on receiving monetary compensation or a replacement player given Fonua-Blake still has three years left on his contract, worth more than $1 million a year.
Sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity given the confidential nature of talks, told this masthead that those conversations had taken place with the Dragons, to the point individual players were identified by the Warriors.
“A deal has been reached for Addin to leave us after next season to continue his career with Cronulla,” Warriors CEO Cameron George said. While the Sharks and Warriors have also been in discussions around Fonua-Blake’s impending move, George confirmed that there is no player swap on the cards.
The Warriors have waived the NRL’s new 10-day cooling-off period that would have allowed them to submit a counter offer to Fonua-Blake.
Fonua-Blake, 28, is viewed as the gamebreaker the Sharks crave to forge deeper into the finals after bowing out in the first week of the play-offs this year, complementing their current front-row rotation of Braden Hamlin-Uele, Toby Rudolf, Royce Hunt and Tom Hazelton.