Eighteen months after nearly being selected to represent the NSW Blues, centre Jesse Ramien is set to be squeezed out of the Cronulla Sharks, with at least six rival teams showing an interest in his services.
After bowing out in the preliminary final for the second straight season, the Sharks are set to face some difficult choices as they look to remain in premiership contention but also hope to go one further than they did in 2024 and 2025.
A day after it was revealed that they would be without star winger Ronaldo Mulitalo for the start of next season due to an ACL injury, Craig Fitzgibbon could potentially shake-up his back-line even further.
Despite being under contract for another 12 months at a salary of around $500,000 a season, News Corp reports that Jesse Ramien has been given permission to speak with rival teams and has already attracted the interest of at least six teams.
It is understood that one of these teams is the Gold Coast Titans, who recently hired Sharks assistant coach Josh Hannay as their new head coach for the 2026 NRL season.
A four-time Indigenous All-Stars representative and member of the Prime Minister's XIII side in 2018, the 28-year-old has played 170 matches in the NRL since his debut in 2017 - 143 with the Sharks and 17 with the Newcastle Knights.
"The old cliché is the dream is to play one NRL game," Ramien said earlier this year after reaching the 150-game milestone.
"It's been a bit of a wild ride. There's been plenty of highs and plenty of lows as well. I wouldn't change a thing about it.
"It's brought me to where I am and made me the person I am today. It's all part of it."
Maybe a change would be good for him. He has talent, but his application and effectiveness were down for 2025. A new coach & club could be just what he needs.