Storm head of recruitment Paul Bunn has revealed the club are confident superstar fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen will re-sign and remain in Melbourne long-term.
The 26-year-old has battled multiple long-term injuries in recent seasons, but has been able to play 17 games in 2024, his most since 2020.
Papenhuyzen becomes a free agent on November 1, but Bunn was confident the Storm can get a new contract over the line.
“We’re hoping to continue with Paps longer than his present contract,” Bunn said on SEN.
“It’s pretty positive all our chats. Matt Tripp (Storm chairman) is involved as well.
“He’s a great salesperson, he’s passionate about what he does, so he’s given me a hand with the big dogs in Harry (Grant) and Paps.”
Meanwhile, Bunn also revealed he believes new recruit Stefano Utoikamanu has the potential to take his game to a new level under Craig Bellamy.
The 24-year-old will arrive in Melbourne ahead of the 2025 season, signing a three-year deal until the end of 2027.
“He’ll improve enormously under Craig’s tutelage and the rest of the coaches,” he said.
“He’s got so much upside. He was another kid, like most of them at Storm, they just want to be coached by Craig.
“They want to be in the system. Craig and Frank (Ponissi) have built a really good system.
“And players will take unders to stay with us, or become part of the Storm or coached by Craig.”
We are aware that some players would take unders to stay at clubs like the Storm and Roosters.
I have copied and pasted this article from Foxsports News because if we are contemplating on trying to get Tyran Wishart to come back, we will probably have a hard time trying based on what Paul Bunn said above.
