Former Sharks great Luke Lewis says Cronulla would be the perfect landing spot for out-of-favour Knight Jesse Ramien.
The 22-year old is set to part ways with Newcastle after he was told by the club to find a new home, as first reported by The Daily Telegraph on Thursday.
And Lewis believes returning to the Sharks, where Ramien made his NRL debut in 2017, could be a match made in heaven.
“I think the Sharks. I really do. I really do believe it’s the best place for him,” Lewis told foxsports.com.au regarding where Ramien could best fit.
“He’s got all those young guys who he’s played with - Briton Nikora, Bronson Xerri, Blayke Brailey, Billy Magoulias - who are going to be superstars in the future.
“(Sharks coach) John Morris has been his coach in the 20s and he knows how to get the best out of him.
“We’ve seen what he can do in a Sharks jersey. It’s just getting him in that happy environment where he enjoys the mateship he’s built up over a long time with those kids.
“I don’t know how their salary cap is at the moment, but I really do believe the Sharks would be the best spot for him.”
Cronulla will have ample salary cap space following Paul Gallen's retirement and Jayden Brailey's defection to the Knights at the end of the season.
Bringing in Ramien would give John Morris' side one of the best young centre pairing in the league alongside Bronson Xerri.
“I think if you can have those two (Ramien and Xerri) in the centres eventually, that would be the goal,” Lewis said.
“Josh Morris and Josh Dugan are going to retire or move on eventually ... Jesse Ramien is a young kid, Bronson Xerri, Blayke Brailey, Billy Magoulias ... they can build an awesome side.
“You could have two of the best young centres in the game.”
Despite Ramien's drop off of form since leaving Cronulla, Lewis still think his upside is enormous.
“When he was at the Sharks ... he really bought into what we wanted to do on the right edge. He was an excellent centre,” Lewis said.
“We had a lot of belief in him, everyone believed in him, he had a lot of belief in the systems.
“He was an absolute gentleman, a really hard worker and a really good football players. Sometimes you can go to another place and it just doesn’t work for you or you just don’t fit in.
“You look at Newcastle and I think a lot of their plays do go down that left edge there with Kalyn Ponga, who is a very good player, they create a lot of good opportunity down that left edge.
“At the Sharks we used to have a shift to the left but we also had a shift to the right, and our game plan was based around getting the Jesse the ball because he was one of the most devastating runners in our side.”
If it is true and he ends up going they what do they do with Dugan and Morris. I think Dugan is the most overpaid of the bunch and he should be the one to go.
Yep spot on Lukey Lew. Come on back JR, Will be the best centre pairing since ET & sparkles mcgaw. Will have some cash to spend with Gal, Brailey, flanno jr going & maybe another set to leave. Id pick dugan.