Manly are battening down the hatches for a player raid from the Tigers – but the jewel in their crown is safe.
With highly-regarded recruitment manager Scott Fulton switching from Brookvale to Concord, the Sea Eagles are rightly worried that he will set his sights on several Manly young guns.
It was Fulton, a man with a great eye for junior talent, who spotted many of Manly’s current crop of youngsters and he has a close relationship with them.
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But the rising player the Sea Eagles most fear losing – utility Josh Schuster – is not in the Tigers’ sights.
“He goes okay but we don’t think he is a good fit for us,” a Tigers source told Wide World of Sports.
“We do have our eyes on a few others though.”
Knights hero could walk
The Knights are in danger of losing consistent back-rower Lachlan Fitzgibbon for 2024.
One of the club’s more consistent players this season, Fitzgibbon is coming off contract in a few months and has yet to receive an offer from the club.
But rival clubs – both here and in Super League – are showing plenty of interest in the 29-year-old, who has played every game this season and recently passed the 100-game mark for the Knights.
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“Lachlan has been a Knight since 2015 and wants to stay,” a member of Fitzgibbon’s management team told Wide World of Sports.
“But like a lot of clubs, the Knights have salary cap issues and that complicates things.
“We will sit down with him soon and decide what his next move is.”
Hopes of Flanagan move end
Jake Arthur’s move to Manly has scuttled any hopes of unwanted Bulldog Kyle Flanagan going to the Sea Eagles.
Former Sharks coach Shane Flanagan – now an assistant coach at Brookvale – was keen to get Kyle a start with the club and the Bulldogs would not have stood in his way.
But Arthur’s move to Manly on Monday means he will fill the extra utility back/halfback role and there is no chance of Flanagan making the switch.
The Sea Eagles got Arthur for a bargain price and it is win/win for the promising number seven.
He gets a fresh start away from his dad Brad – and that means the barrage of hateful social media he has been copping from so-called ‘fans’ will come to an end.
Talented Dragons brothers on rivals’ radar
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A pair of talented brothers at the Dragons could be lost to the club next season.
Haele Finau, a 22-year-old hooker, and Sione, a 20-year-old wing/centre, are both Melbourne juniors.
They played their entire careers in the Storm system, shining with Easts Tigers in the Queensland Cup last season, before moving to the Dragons this year in the NSW Cup.
It’s believed the Sea Eagles, with not much depth at number nine, are looking at Haele, while several clubs have shown interest in Sione.
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