The Raiders are set to land Knights prop Leo Thompson despite the Roosters emerging as a dark horse late in negotiations.
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WWOS’ The Mole reported on Friday morning that Canberra looks to have won the race for Thompson’s signature, beating out six dfferent teams with the Knights front rower telling teammates he is signing a long-term deal to move to the nation’s capital.
The Roosters have emerged as a late threat to sign Thompson after he told the Knights he would not be accepting their extension offer, while the Bulldogs ruled themselves out of the running for the New Zealand prop, despite having talks with the prop last week.
Canberra had the edge given Thompson’s girlfriend is from the ACT while the club has plenty of room in the salary cap with Josh Papali’i expected to retire at the end of 2025.
The Roosters were the dark horse, having lost big men Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Terrell May over the summer and they have a hole to fill and money to spend from May’s departure after missing out on Ben Hunt.
The Roosters are going through a transition period and still looking for fresh blood to revamp their roster after the departure of some veterans.
Thompson, 24, has scored two tries in 64 games for the Knights since his debut in 2022 and has played five Test for New Zealand to date.
UNWANTED TIGER TO JOIN SOUTHS… BUT HE COULD RETURN
Jayden Sullivan is set to leave the Wests Tigers to take up a deal with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, but the club switch comes with a catch.
The Daily Telegraph reported Sullivan has joined the Rabbitohs after doing a medical with Souths last week, despite having three years on his $700,000 a season Tigers deal remaining.
Previously the Tigers had been willing to pay $900,000 or $300,000 a season for the remaining three years of Sullivan’s deal for him to play elsewhere.
However, Sullivan’s Souths deal is unique in that he will play for the club in 2025, but has the flexibility to rejoin the Tigers in 2026.
But Sullivan also has an option to stay at Souths in 2026 if he chooses with all the power in the young halfback’s court.
Sullivan had signed a four year deal to join the Tigers last season from after switching from the Dragons.
He had been earmarked as their long-term halfback but since then the Tigers have signed Jarome Luai to play No.7 with youngsters Lachie Galvin and Latu Fainu the other half options, Sullivan was surplus to requirements.
At the Rabbitohs Sullivan will compete with Lewis Dodd for the right to partner Cody Walker in the halves, after Lachlan Ilias’ switch to his old club the Dragons.
Sullivan is expected to link up with South Sydney in the new year when training resumes on January 6.
Sullivan is the third big-name player to be released by the Tigers in recent months with Bateman (Cowboys) and Isaiah Papali’i (Panthers) also being moved on.
The Tigers are also locked in a legal battle with youngster Jordan Miller who was sacked by the club.
DOLPHINS SET TO LAND FORMER BRONCOS CENTRE
The Dolphins are set to bring home former Eels and Broncos centre Tom Opacic to boost their outside backs stocks.
WWOS’ The Mole reported Opacic is set to join the Dolphins, after starting his career at Redcliffe before earning his NRL debut at the Broncos.
The 30-year-old was born and raised in Redcliffe, but made his NRL debut for the Broncos in 2016,
Opacic has scored 28 tries in 83 NRL games, including 19 for the Broncos, 24 for the Cowboys and most recently 40 matches for the Eels in 2021 and 2022.
He was a member of the Eels’ 2022 Grand Final squad that lost to the Panthers, despite not playing in the decider, before switching to the Super League.
At Hull KR, Opacic scored 14 tries in 48 games across two seasons, but has decided to return home to hopefully finish his career in the NRL with his junior club.
Opacic’s strong defence and versatility in covering centre and wing makes him an astute buy for the Dolphins as Kristian Woolf looks to add depth for a tilt at a maiden finals appearance in 2025.
BATEMAN JOINS COWBOYS AFTER TIGERS RELEASE
John Bateman has been released by the Wests Tigers to take up a two year deal with the North Queensland Cowboys.
“The North Queensland Toyota Cowboys have agreed to a two-year contract with English International forward John Bateman for the 2025-26 seasons,” the club said in a statement.
Bateman joins the Cowboys after securing an early release from the Wests Tigers.
After a prolific Super League career, which began as a 17-year-old with Bradford in 2011, Bateman moved to the NRL with the Canberra Raiders in 2019.
He won Dally M Second Rower of the Year in his debut season with the Raiders, before heading back to England following the 2020 campaign.
Bateman returned to the NRL with the Wests Tigers prior to the 2023 season.
In total, the 31-year-old has appeared in 219 Super League games and a further 66 in the NRL. He won Super League titles in 2016 and 2018 as well as a Challenge Cup with the Wigan Warriors.
Bateman has registered 26 appearances for England and represented Great Britain on four occasions.
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“We have been in the market for an experienced forward with the ability to play either in the middle or on an edge,” Cowboys General Manager of Football Micheal Luck said.
“John bases his game around defensive intent and willingness to compete in every situation – a couple of areas we’ve made no secret we want to improve significantly on in 2025.
“Along with what he does on the field, we also believe he will be a valuable mentor for our younger forwards in Heilum Luki, Jeremiah Nanai and Griffin Neame.”
The Tigers confirmed Bateman’s release in a statement.
Wests Tigers has released John Bateman from the remaining two years of his contract, paving the way for a new deal at North Queensland Cowboys.
Bateman played 32 NRL games for Wests Tigers in two seasons after joining the club on a four-year-deal ahead of the 2023 season.
Wests Tigers CEO Shane Richardson has thanked Bateman for his services.
“On behalf of everyone at the club I want to thank John and wish him all the very best with his future.”
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Earlier The Daily Telegraph reported Bateman has been released from the final two years of his Tigers deal to link with the Cowboys for 2025 and 2026.
The club switch will be offset by the Tigers chipping in a large chunk of his reported $700,000 salary for the final two years of his deal.
Bateman’s four year deal at the Tigers has come to an end after two seasons and 32 appearances for the club.
Benji Marshall staunchly denied a rift with Batman was behind his exit, but it is clear he did not see the Englishman as a priority for his Tigers rebuild.
Bateman had intended to resume training with the Wests Tigers at the conclusion of his annual leave in January.
However, the Cowboys are eager for Bateman to commence pre-season training as soon as possible in a bid to both acclimatise to the Townsville weather conditions and build a rapport with his new teammates.
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The Cowboys view the 31-year-old as a player of experience, who will add toughness to their forward stocks and help develop their young pack stars in Heilum Luki, Reuben Cotter, Jeremiah Nanai and Griffin Neame.
Bateman was previously linked to South Sydney, given his relationship with Wayne Bennett and the fact the Tigers were willing to chip in a large chunk of his salary.
But the Souths talks fell over when the Cowboys came to the party, with funds freed up after Reece Robson’s departure to the Roosters in 2026.
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Bateman’s exit will allow the Wests Tigers to create an extra spot in their 2025 roster to promote one of several talented young guns into their top-30.
Bateman has scored 10 tries in 66 NRL games for the Raiders and Tigers since his debut in 2019, while he has also scored 50 tries in 219 games in the Super League with Bradford, Wigan and Warrington.
The veteran back-rower has also scored nine tries in 30 Tests for England and Great Britain and gives the Cowboys pack some much needed experience and a hard-nosed defender to improve their at times leaky defence.
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