Off-contract at the end of this season, Cronulla Sharks forward Thomas Hazelton's next move is reportedly in doubt after preliminary contract talks with a rival club have hit a roadblock.
Hazelton, a fan favourite of the Sharks, has been in incredible form over the past two seasons, cementing a regular spot in the team and even scoring seven tries in 2024.
A late bloomer, his game has evolved after earning a promotion to the Top 30 squad in 2023 and having been a consistent performer in the NSW Cup.
With plenty of size - at 198 centimetres and 116 kilograms - he has been with Cronulla's program since the end of 2017 and has played his way through the club's pathways system.
Following reports at the end of January that he had entered preliminary contract talks with the Newcastle Knights, an update has been provided on those talks as he remains off-contract at the end of the 2025 NRL season.
Responding to a fan's message on X (formerly Twitter), The Newcastle Herald's Barry Toohey revealed that Hazleton won't be joining the Knights at this stage due to his "current asking price".
The update on Hazleton's future comes after he appeared on the Knights' radar at the beginning of January and has also been chased by a number of rival NRL teams.
"I have had inquiries from seven or eight clubs about big Tom - they are waiting until November 1 when they are officially allowed to talk to him about 2026," his manager Gavin Orr told Wide World of Sports in September last year.
"He is really in hot demand - he's had a breakout year."
Other players off-contract at the end of the 2025 season include Kade Dykes, Ronaldo Mulitalo, William Kennedy and Sam Stonestreet.
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With the arrival of Addin Fonua-Blake and a pay rise to Nicho Hynes, it is extremely likely that some of the players above will find themselves elsewhere and away from the Shire the following season.
โThe main thing for me is to play footy. I have a team around me who know what my ambitions are and what I want to do in this game," Mulitalo told The Herald after being linked with a switch to the Brisbane Broncos.
โI love this club, I've poured my heart into this place through the good times and bad times.โ
