The Roosters have a “war chest” ahead of next season — and two surprise players have been floated as options the glamour club should consider.
The Roosters will farewell Luke Keary and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves to the Super League at the end of the year, while Joseph Manu and Joseph Sua’ali’i are making the switch to rugby union.
This will leave them plenty of cash to spend, as NRL 360 host Braith Anasta highlighted, and of course, a bunch of holes to fill in 2025.
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“The Roosters will have a loaded gun, they’ve got a war chest there now. They’ve got a lot of players leaving, surely they’re going to make a play for someone,” he said.
And now Brandon Smith’s ACL injury has created yet another hole that will need filling given the star hooker is expected to miss half of next season.
That’s why veteran journalist Paul Crawley believes the Roosters should consider making a play for Ben Hunt or Tyran Wishart — if the Dragons or Storm were open to early releases.
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Hunt — who plays hooker at Origin level — comes off contract at the end of next season, but as Phil Rothfield reported last week, he believes the Dragons wouldn’t stand in his way if another opportunity came along.
Like Hunt, Wishart comes off contract at the end of 2025, but given how valuable he’s proven to be it’s unlikely the Storm would release him.
Regardless, they are the two players that Crawley could see fitting into the Roosters’ plans.
“I put it to a couple of people at the Roosters today, names that probably get bandied about at the moment,” he said on NRL 360.
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“They’ve got a problem with Brandon Smith next year. He’s off-contract at the end of the year and as I’m led to believe he gets a significant upgrade in his contract for next season but he is off-contract.
“He hasn’t had his ACL knee surgery at this point in time because his MCL has to mend before his ACL (operated on) so he’ll be out until at least July.
“The Roosters, as we know, like to go into a season with all bases covered. They’ve got some good young guys coming through the system — are they ready for NRL yet? I don’t know.
“You’ve got Connor Watson, who can fill the bridge but is Connor a genuine nine? No he’s not.
“You look at a guy like Ben Hunt. He’s just come through his seventh season at the Dragons and in that time they’ve made one finals appearance in 2018.
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“I’d be shocked if Ben Hunt stays at the Dragons next year because I think that club has to look at themselves and think ‘do we move on?’
“Ben Hunt — not as a halfback but as a nine — would be a great asset if the Roosters could afford him.
“Then it would come down to whether the Roosters were interested, which I’m told their not.
“You also look at another player like Tyran Wishart. Come November 1, I have no doubt that Tyran Wishart will be one of the hottest players on the market.
“I reckon he could walk into a number of teams as a six or a nine. He’s got a great attitude, he reminds me in many ways of Tom Dearden — he’s an all effort player.
“He would fit into any system and the best systems if he chose to go down that path and leave the Storm. The only thing is we know the Storm won’t want to release him for 2025.”
News Corp journalist Dave Riccio disagreed with Crawley over Hunt potentially being let go by the Dragons, but agreed he can’t imagine the Roosters would just “sit dormant until July next year” when Smith returns.
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