https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...r/news-story/426ecc6b33686ca4a7f342e84aacbdd3
A bit of an unusual move regarding one of the top two props in the game.
The Warriors have wasted no time in chasing Addin Fonua-Blake with reports the club has tabled a three-year deal to the star prop.
Fonua-Blake shocked the NRL community and his teammates when he requested a release from the final two years of his contract on Wednesday.
Fox Sports’ chief league reporter James Hooper told NRL360, the Warriors have offered the 24-year-old a three-year deal worth $850,000 a season and hope to have him put pen to paper in the coming days.
“He’s on $850,000 next year and the year after at the Sea Eagles. The Warriors have come straight in and just matched that offer,” Hooper said.
“So they put a three-year deal on the table to his management today... they’ve really gone in, they put the offer on the table today and they want to get the deal sign, sealed and delivered in the next couple of days.”
It comes as teammate Curtis Sironen told NRL Tonight the news shocked him.
“I was pretty shocked, didn’t really see it coming to be honest,”
“He addressed the group this morning, he didn’t go into detail but just said it’s going to be what’s best for him at the moment and his family and he wants to enjoy the last couple of weeks with us.
“As a mate we all back him, I’m not looking forward to tackling the big unit. It’s disappointing on that front but you just wish him the best, that’s just the game we play.”
The Daily Telegraph’s Dave Riccio told NRL Tonight he believes Fonua-Blake’s exit, on top of Joel Thompson leaving at the season’s end as well is a “by-product of their seriously stressed salary cap situation.”
“They’ve got close to $3.6 million tied up in four players: the Trbojevic brothers; Cherry-Evans and Marty Taupau.
“Originally all the talk in league circles was that Manly would let Marty Taupau explore his options and potentially move on... when I think the doors started to knock on Addin Fonua-Blake the Sea Eagles saw it as an opportunity release some salary cap pressure.”
Manly will now have some extra cash up their sleeve and are reportedly already eyeing some new signings.
“Already I’m hearing names like Kieran Foran in a potential comeback to the club and also Luke Garner from the Wests Tigers with reports surfacing this evening that he could also be a target,” Riccio said.
There were fears off-contract Foran wouldn’t land a new deal after tearing his pectoral in Round 17 and although Manly have been interested in the star half, salary cap prevented them from offering him anything.
Garner on the other hand may be a little harder to land as he is signed to the Tigers until the end of 2022.
MORE NRL NEWS
A bit of an unusual move regarding one of the top two props in the game.
The Warriors have wasted no time in chasing Addin Fonua-Blake with reports the club has tabled a three-year deal to the star prop.
Fonua-Blake shocked the NRL community and his teammates when he requested a release from the final two years of his contract on Wednesday.
Fox Sports’ chief league reporter James Hooper told NRL360, the Warriors have offered the 24-year-old a three-year deal worth $850,000 a season and hope to have him put pen to paper in the coming days.
“He’s on $850,000 next year and the year after at the Sea Eagles. The Warriors have come straight in and just matched that offer,” Hooper said.
“So they put a three-year deal on the table to his management today... they’ve really gone in, they put the offer on the table today and they want to get the deal sign, sealed and delivered in the next couple of days.”
It comes as teammate Curtis Sironen told NRL Tonight the news shocked him.
“I was pretty shocked, didn’t really see it coming to be honest,”
“He addressed the group this morning, he didn’t go into detail but just said it’s going to be what’s best for him at the moment and his family and he wants to enjoy the last couple of weeks with us.
“As a mate we all back him, I’m not looking forward to tackling the big unit. It’s disappointing on that front but you just wish him the best, that’s just the game we play.”
The Daily Telegraph’s Dave Riccio told NRL Tonight he believes Fonua-Blake’s exit, on top of Joel Thompson leaving at the season’s end as well is a “by-product of their seriously stressed salary cap situation.”
“They’ve got close to $3.6 million tied up in four players: the Trbojevic brothers; Cherry-Evans and Marty Taupau.
“Originally all the talk in league circles was that Manly would let Marty Taupau explore his options and potentially move on... when I think the doors started to knock on Addin Fonua-Blake the Sea Eagles saw it as an opportunity release some salary cap pressure.”
Manly will now have some extra cash up their sleeve and are reportedly already eyeing some new signings.
“Already I’m hearing names like Kieran Foran in a potential comeback to the club and also Luke Garner from the Wests Tigers with reports surfacing this evening that he could also be a target,” Riccio said.
There were fears off-contract Foran wouldn’t land a new deal after tearing his pectoral in Round 17 and although Manly have been interested in the star half, salary cap prevented them from offering him anything.
Garner on the other hand may be a little harder to land as he is signed to the Tigers until the end of 2022.
MORE NRL NEWS
