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0 Cronulla is facing a dilemma over the future of skipper Wade Graham.
The talented backrower has been an ornament to the game and given the Sharks great service over the past 12 seasons.
But Graham, who turns 32 in October, is after a new deal with the club and officials are weighing up whether to sign him to a new contract.
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Graham’s best football is behind him and injuries are a major concern – he played just 11 games last season and six so far this year.
The club is set to retain Kiwi Test forward Briton Nikora after it appeared he would be lost to a rival NRL team, and young forwards Jesse Colquhoun and Todd Hazleton have recently agreed to new deals.
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Signing Graham to a new contract could hold back some of the good young players coming through the ranks and this decision shapes as the toughest to date for coach Craig Fitzgibbon.
If the Sharks don’t re-sign the ball-playing forward, they are certain to offer him an off-field role, such is the respect in which he is held within the organisation.
KIWI VETERAN EYES RETURN TO NRL
Former Kiwi international Elijah Taylor wants to return Down Under to finish his career in the NRL.
An experienced forward with more than 200 top-grade games to his name at the Warriors, Panthers, Tigers and Salford, 32-year-old Taylor is a tackling dynamo and a fine role model off the field.
He has played the past two seasons with Salford, where he has captained the club, and has several Super League clubs chasing him but would prefer to return to the NRL to finish his career.
“I feel I still have something to offer and would love to come back to the NRL,” Kiwi-born Taylor told me.
Taylor isn’t your average footballer – he is training to become a commercial airline pilot once his playing days are over.
STORM’S PLAN FOR TEEN STAR
The Storm are on another winner in boom NSW under 19s halfback Jonah Pezet.
The rookie was one of the stars of the representative round, with his four try assists spearheading the rookie Blues to a commanding 32-4 win over Queensland.
And I’m hearing Pezet could debut in the NRL as early as next season despite still being a teenager.
The Storm plan to play him against men in the Queensland Cup in 2023 and if he handles the step up well, he’ll be considered as a back-up for Cameron Munster and Jahrome Hughes during representative rounds.
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EELS PINCH RISING DRAGON
The Dragons have lost another of their promising juniors – this time to the Eels.
Jack Burrows, a strapping 18-year-old prop, has been a standout for renowned league nursery St Gregory’s College at Campbelltown for the past couple of years but has slipped through the Dragons’ net and been poached by the Eels on a two-year deal.
He’ll play in the SG Ball next season but good judges tell me he is destined for higher things at in coming years.
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