Jarrod Mullen's plans of a fairytale return to the Knights appear to have ended following the claims that they had little interest in signing the 34-year-old.
While Mullen was reportedly told by the NRL's Integrity Unit that he would be free to re-enter the competition after serving his four-year steroid ban, it won't be with the club that he called home for 12-years.
According to a report from The Newcastle Herald, the veteran playmaker's name had been raised at McDonald Jones Stadium, however, a club source stated that “At this stage, we don’t have a spot for him in our top 30."
Though this news is almost certain to have stopped Mullen from adding to his 211-game tally in a red and blue jersey, the one-time Origin representative's manager, Steve Gillis, claimed that this much was to be expected.
“It’s probably a bit early,” he said.
“But to be fair, we weren’t expecting anyone to roll out the red carpet.”
This scuppered comeback has also put paid to Mullen linking up with Andrew Johns, after it was announced that the immortal was set to join Newcastle in a coaching capacity next season.
At the time of writing, there has been little interest in Mullen across the competition, despite spending the 2021 season playing in the Queensland Cup with the Sunshine Coast Falcons.
