Canterbury's Corey Harawira-Naera and St George Illawarra's Tim Lafai could be involved in a player swap, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.
Harawira-Naera can return to the field as early as next week after he and Bulldogs teammate Jayden Okunbor's deregistration was overturned by the NRL’s appeals committee.
A report emerged yesterday stating Harawira-Naera is unhappy with Canterbury over the way they handled his sacking, with several rival clubs believed to be monitoring the situation.
They reportedly include the Canberra Raiders, Wests Tigers and the New Zealand Warriors.
But a player swap with the Dragons could be the best avenue for the Bulldogs, with Harawira-Naera and Lafai on similar salaries.
Canterbury are hoping for Lafai to join them regardless, having released Morgan Harper early from his contract to join Manly.
The Dragons should be able to cover the loss of Tim Lafai without too many problems.
I have no doubt that they will put stipulations on CHN if he signs with them, and in the long run he will be a better person and player. They have a good record of rehabilitating players (Josh Dugan & Russell Packer come to mind) and I reckon CHN deserves a second chance.
As for which club would “win the trade” doesn’t really matter. Each club has their reasons for wanting the player swap.