Gold Coast Titans captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui has confirmed he will head to the open market on November 1, seeking as much as $1.5 million per year.

The forward, who is currently away at the Ashes with the Kangaroos, will return to a swarm of offers, with all of the Perth Bears, Melbourne Storm and St George Illawarra Dragons, as well as possibly other clubs in Sydney, likely to be interested in his services.

Fa'asuamaleaui is on a contract at the Titans which, from the start of 2027, is made up of player options. That allows him to become a free agent from November 1 at the same time as every other player off-contract at the end of 2026.

The Titans are understandably desperate to keep their club captain, and while Fa'asuamaleaui has stated he has no intention of walking out on the club, and will give incoming head coach Josh Hannay time to turn things around, he admitted to News Corp that he will be testing his value.

The prop and lock who is a Queensland State of Origin representative also indicateda decision won't be coming anytime soon, with a chance provided for the Titans to turn things around before he makes his mind up.

“An NRL career is so short – you've got to be smart and use your brain,” he told the publication.

“I'm not going to beat around the bush, but yeah, I'll be on the open market,” he said. “When November ticks around, it will feel a bit weird.

“I do really want to stay at the Titans but I want to see things improve around the place and that's (by) winning. I have tried to do that for five years, to try to win, and there have been a lot of ups and downs.

“I want to see improvements throughout the whole club and see it heading in a good direction. I love the Titans and I want to win there and change (the club)."

The comments could well alarm the Perth Bears.

The NRL's newest club were set to make rich offers for both Cameron Munster and Fa'asuamaleaui to become their marquee recruits.

Munster will now stay in the Victorian capital until at least the end of 2027, with his contract to be honoured after the Storm let go of Jonah Pezet, while Fa'asuamaleaui not providing an answer until well into 2026 could mean the Bears need to look elsewhere as they build their squad.

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