After landing Jarome Luai for 2025, the Wests Tigers have turned their attention back to Justin Olam, with the aim of signing the powerhouse centre immediately.
The Tigers’ recruitment moves don’t stop there with reports a Queensland Cup premiership-winner has joined the club.
Meanwhile, the Panthers are at risk of losing two more players, however the reigning premiers have picked up a former Storm prop.
Read on for the latest NRL Transfer Whispers.
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Luai reveals Benji big role in coming | 01:27
Q CUP GUN MAKES MOVE TO SYDNEY
Solomona Faataape has been rewarded for his impressive 2023 season with an NRL opportunity.
That is according to Zero Tackle, who reports Faataape has signed a train-and-trial deal with the Wests Tigers.
The 23-year-old won the Queensland Cup premiership last season with Brisbane Tigers — a Melbourne Storm feeder side. He scored 16 tries, set up 10 and got 14 linebreaks in 21 games while averaging four tackle busts and 155 running metres per game.
Faataape, a powerful centre, was also named Players’ Player for 2023 at the Brisbane Tigers’ end of season awards night.
It’s Faataape’s second full-time NRL pre-season having spent last summer with the Storm’s top squad.
At this stage, the Tigers have no spots left in their Top 30, but do have one supplementary contract left. Faataape would be available for NRL selection from Round 11 regardless of whether he is upgraded to a supplementary contract or stays on a train-and-trial.
PANTHERS JUNIOR RETURNS TO FOOT OF THE MOUNTAINS
Jordan Grant has returned home to Penrith after three years in the Melbourne Storm system.
The Western Weekender’s Peter Lang reports Grant has signed a train-and-trial contract with the Panthers with his eye on one of the two Top 30 spots available for 2024.
Grant St Clair Comets junior but had stints with the Eels and Tigers in the lower grades.
The 29-year-old made the move to the Queensland Cup in 2018 to play for the Mackay Cutters before joining the Dolphins the following year.
He signed with Storm feeder club Brisbane Tigers ahead of the 2021 season and made his NRL debut for Melbourne later that year.
Grant, who was on a Top 30 contract last season, has played seven NRL games — including two in 2023 — and was a key member of the Brisbane Tigers’ drought-breaking Queensland Cup premiership-winning side in 2023.
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TIGERS SIGNING SPREE CONTINUES
The Wests Tigers are set to announce another big signing in the coming days, with Storm centre Justin Olam reportedly agreeing on a deal with the reigning wooden spooners.
The Tigers got their main off-season target in Jarome Luai on a five-year deal from 2025, and according to The Daily Telegraph, Olam will also be heading to Concord.
It is being reported that Olam only needs to pass a fitness test in the coming days and he’ll be a Tiger immediately, with the Storm willing to accommodate the PNG international’s move and release him from his contract three years early.
Having fallen out of favour at the Storm, Olam has been linked with the Tigers for quite some time now.
The other name that has been in the discussions of a Olam-to-Tigers swap is emerging forward Shawn Blore, who last month reportedly agreed to a deal with the Storm from 2025.
It is expected that the Tigers will allow Blore to head to the Storm immediately in what will essentially be a straight swap for Olam.
The Tigers move gives Olam a chance for a fresh start at another club, given he was in and out of the Storm side last season and spent time in the Queensland Cup.
At his best, the 30-year-old Olam would add plenty of punch to a Tigers backline in dire need of some spark in attack.
Cleary goes from a champion to a legend | 00:46
PANTHERS’ SALARY CAP SQUEEZE AS TWO FORWARDS FACE CALL ON FUTURE
The Panthers could again soon be facing the salary cap squeeze, with two back rowers weighing up their future at the club.
With Jarome Luai leaving the Panthers at the end of next season to take up a $6 million offer from the Tigers, another grand final hero in Luke Garner could also be lost to a rival club.
The WWOS are reporting that Garner is receiving interest from NRL clubs as well as Super League teams.
The 28-year-old, who played 21 minutes off the bench in Penrith’s grand final epic against the Broncos, comes off contract at the end of next season.
Garner joined the Panthers for 2023 after spending the previous five seasons with the Tigers.
Garner’s manager Tas Bartlett says the back rower “would love” to be a Panther beyond 2024, but is realistic about the salary cap situation.
“Penrith would love to keep him and Luke wants to stay but the salary cap is what it is,” Bartlett told WWOS.
“Ivan (Cleary) gave him his top grade debut at the Tigers a few years ago and is a fan of the way he plays.
“Luke has had interest both here and in England but will wait and see what happens.”
Another Penrith back rower who could be on the move is Zac Hosking, who was last month seen given a tour of Raiders HQ in Canberra.
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has since fanned the flames of an immediate switch, considering Hosking is under contract at Penrith until the end of the 2024 season.
“He was just having a look around but there is no suggestion he will be here in 2024,” Stuart told WWOS.
“We are talking to him about 2025 and showed him around – nothing more.”
Hosking linked up with the Panthers in 2023 after starting his career at the Broncos.
The son of former Panther David, Hosking was a key part of Penrith’s third straight premiership winning campaign, appearing in 21 games (17 starts).
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