NRL Market Watch:
Addin Fonua-Blake to check out Dragons, Bulldogs and Tigers over Christmas
One Sydney NRL club looks set for an early Christmas present with want-away Warriors forward
Addin Fonua-Blake making a flying visit to determine his next destination, writes FATIMA KDOUH.
New Zealand Warriors forward
Addin Fonua-Blake will return to Australia over the Christmas break to tour the facilities of the three Sydney clubs vying for the prized prop’s signature.
It’s expected Fonua-Blake will visit Canterbury, Wests Tigers and St George Illawarra in a move that will help the 28-year old determine which Sydney club will be his new home.
It comes as the Wests Tigers, who met with Fonua-Blake last Friday, prepare to table the Kiwi and Tongan international an offer, as soon as this week, for a deal that could run up to four years from 2025.
Tigers recruitment boss Scott Fulton met with Fonua-Blake at Haberfield Rowers last week to discuss a potential move to Concord.
Fulton, and his late father Bob, played a key role in Fonua-Blake’s arrival at Manly back in 2015 that connection could give the Tigers the upper hand in negotiations.
One of the NRL’s elite props, Fonua-Blake is on a deal worth around $1 million at the Warriors.
Addin Fonua-Blake meeting with
Phil Gould.
It’s believed the Tigers are in a position to not only acquire Fonua-Blake but also star Penrith five-eighth Jarome Luai, who has reportedly been offered a four-year deal worth around $4.5 million for season 2025 onwards.
As well as meeting with the Dragons while he was in Sydney, Fonua-Blake, who is looked after by Sportsplayer Management, was snapped meeting with Canterbury supremo
Phil Gould at the airport last Friday.
Like the Tigers, the Bulldogs are one of the few Sydney clubs with enough wriggle room in their salary cap to be able to meet Fonua-Blake’s hefty price tag.
The Bulldogs are believed to be the frontrunner in the chase for the gun prop’s signature, as the club ramps up its recruitment drive aimed at turning around the outfit’s on field fortunes.
Gould has made no secret of Canterbury’s need to add some power, starch and class to the struggling side’s engine room.
Fonua-Blake ticks all those boxes for Canterbury.
The club turned their attention to Fonua-Blake after a failed attempt to secure former Sydney Roosters premiership winner
Sio Siua Taukeiaho.
Taukeiaho returned from England to join the Bulldogs only to have the deal fall through after it was revealed he required surgery on a foot injury that would prevent him from training during the pre-season.
New St George Illawarra head coach Shane Flanagan is also in the midst of a roster overhaul and has identified Fonua-Blake, who was part of the Dragons under 20s set-up before joining the Sea Eagles, as a recruitment target for 2025.
Fonua-Blake has three years left on his Warriors deal but will return to Sydney at the end of 2024 after the club granted him a release on compassionate grounds.
A request for an immediate release was rejected by the Warriors, but Fonua-Blake has since reaffirmed his commitment to the club for next season
