There are fears history could repeat with Phil Gould eyeing Jahream Bula for the Bulldogs the longer his contract situation with the Tigers drags out.
The Tigers have a club option for Bula for $900,000 for 2027 that they are yet to activate as they try to iron out a long-term extension with the star fullback.
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But the longer they fail to agree to terms, the more chance Gould and the Bulldogs have of swooping in and stealing him as they did with Lachlan Galvin.
“What are the rumours that are getting people a little bit edgy about possibly Bula going to the Bulldogs?” Braith Anasta said on NRL 360.
The Daily Telegraph’s Brent Read explained that Gould usually gets what he wants when he goes after a player, even after the club re-signed Connor Tracey for two more seasons.
“Well when Gus wants stuff to happen, he makes it happen,” Read said.
“Doesn’t matter who’s at the football club or who isn’t. Gus will move blokes, he’ll shuffle things around.”
Gorden Tallis interjected: “But there’s still a salary cap.”
“But he makes it work, we’ve seen it happen before, the Galvin situation is a prime example,” Read replied.
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“They wanted Galvin, they made space for him. If he wants to get Bula, he’ll make space for him.”
Tallis questioned if the delay was around Bula’s new manager Isaac Moses wanting a bigger slice of the pie on his next deal.
“Is this because his manager doesn’t get paid if he stays at the Tigers?” Tallis said.
“It depends how the deal is structured, if he can renegotiate a new deal that changes everything,” Read said.
Anasta explained that Moses would be entitled to a slice of Bula’s new deal if he negotiates a new contract at a rival club.
“But if he stays at the Tigers on less, then just say the Bulldogs offer him an extra $100,000, he doesn’t need to pay his manager that fee because the deal was done before him,” Anasta said.
“He pays his old manager. But if he signs with the Dogs or someone else it’s a new deal, so Isaac Moses then gets the money.”
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However, The Daily Telegraph’s Michael Carayannis warned the Tigers to take up the option for 2027 now or risk losing Bula to the Bulldogs.
“Let’s not forget, that option’s only for 12 months at the West Tigers,” Carayannis said.
“I think the West Tigers would be mad not to take that option up. I would just take the option up now and be done with it and then work out what you do long-term because the only other fullback on the market is Scott Drinkwater.
“And no offence to Scott Drinkwater I’m backing Jahream for the upside to keep him there. The way he is playing, the way the Tigers are playing, how settled the West Tigers squad looks at the moment. I’d just be taking it up and doing it.”
Read revealed in a bid to do their due diligence, the Tigers have made contact with Cowboys fullback Drinkwater as a contingency if they lose Bula.
“The Tigers have inquired about Drinkwater,” Read said.
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“They want to make sure they’ve got all their options on the table and they know the situation, they know the landscape before they decide what direction they go.
“But my understanding is they’re going to wait, they’re going to drag the Jahream Bula thing out until the club option date is up. I still expect them to take that up. But they just want to be able to present to Benji all the options.”
Carayannis interjected: “Why would you drag it out?”
“Because they want to make sure they’re abreast of everything that happens in the marketplace before that date,” Read replied.
“And they’re trying to get a long-term deal done with him as well in the background. They’re trying to get that done, so they’re going to keep working on that until the club option date is up.
“But at the same time, they want to know what’s out there in case this all doesn’t go the way they want it to.”
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However, Carayannis fears the Tigers risk upsetting their momentum as a team by dragging out the Bula contract option decision.
“I just don’t want it to be a distraction for the Tigers, with how they’re going so well at the moment with him at fullback,” Carayannis said.
“This time next year, there’s no certainty they’re going to be in second spot on the ladder, so whilst they’re going so well, I would try and end all the distractions.
“It could be a distraction if he ends up leaving. It does have the potential to be.”
However, Read feels the Tigers still have the power to use that option if and when they need to.
“If it gets to the club option day, and they haven’t done a long-term extension with him, they’ll take the option up,” Read said.
Anasta warned the Tigers fans would be up in arms if the club loses him to the Bulldogs given his and the team’s current form.
“There’ll be riots from Leichhardt to Campbelltown if they don’t re-sign him,” Anasta said.
“They’re loving him, the fans, and so they should.”
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