After Tino Fa'asuamaleaui's manager confirmed that he would be testing the open market on November 1, two more teams are set to join the Perth Bears in the race to secure the Gold Coast Titans captain.
One of the most prominent players that will be able to negotiate with rival teams from November 1, Fa'asuamaleaui, is currently in the midst of a 10-year contract with the Titans but has a get-out clause in his deal, which will allow him to leave at the end of the 2026 NRL season.
Already linked to the Perth Bears, the Canterbury Bulldogs, and St George Illawarra Dragons have become the latest teams to express an interest in the representative forward.
It is being heavily reported that he would have to take unders to take the Bulldogs, whereas the Dragons would splash the cash for his services with an "absolutely massive offer" as they look for someone to lead their forward pack for the next decade.
"I'm told St George have gone in with an absolutely massive offer. It's going to be the richest offer in St George Illawarra history for a player," The Daily Telegraph's Buzz Rothfield said on Triple M's NRL Daily.
"(He's) the ideal man to lead all those emerging forwards coming through.
"The other story, the Canterbury Bulldogs...The Bulldogs have already got Leo Thompson from Newcastle.
"If they got Tino with Max King and the rest of them... (it) can deliver a premiership there."
A rumoured move to the Bulldogs or Dragons comes after the Perth Bears are lining up a $7.5 million contract to poach his services across a five-year period, which would essentially make him the highest-paid player in NRL history.
"I think they're going to make him the richest deal for a forward in the game's history, so I'd imagine even the Dragons would struggle to match the dollars on offer for him in Perth," News Corp's Brent Read added.
