Parramatta Eels coach Brad Arthur has refused to rule out a new deal for winger Blake Ferguson.
The off-contract 31-year-old has been heavily linked with rugby union over the past couple of months, with it thought Parramatta wouldn't offer him a new deal to stay at the club.
Ferguson's case wasn't helped by being axed from the first grade team after Round 12. While the former representative winger played the first 12 rounds of the season, Arthur went with Haze Dunster after back-to-back losses to the Manly Sea Eagles and South Sydney Rabbitohs.
But he was recalled last night, and while it was a mixed game, he reminded everyone what he is capable of in the second half with a long-range break and try assist for Dylan Brown to get the Eels on the scoreboard in the low-scoring game.
Parramatta may have lost, but Arthur wasn't overly disappointed with his winger post game and, when asked, confirmed there was a chance he would remain at the club next season.
"Look, he just has to worry about keep playing well and then we will see what happens from there," said Arthur.
"Right now we need to get fixed up and be ready to go next week against a very physical team [Sydney Roosters].
"But he did a good job, broke the game open for us a bit, gave us an opportunity with that good attitude towards the collision with his carry, that's what we needed more of."
Parramatta's loss to the Raiders leaves them inside the top eight by four points, but with the Roosters and Sea Eagles both still to play this weekend, the gap could be narrowed.
More worryingly for the Roosters, they play all of the five other teams in the top six on the ladder over the last six weeks in the season. Manly and the Roosters don't enjoy comfortable runs to the finish line, but it's certainly far more straightforward than Parramatta.
The men in blue and gold have been looking at a top four spot as an almost certainty for weeks, but last night's loss to the Raiders throws a spanner in the works, with the club now likely to need at least one victory over a fellow top six side, potentially without injured stalwart Mitchell Moses, who played Origin 3 with a fracture in his back and is out indefinitely.
