The North Queensland Cowboys have reportedly put a line through chasing Canterbury Bulldogs centre Paul Alamoti.
The Bulldogs are in both a salary cap and role crunch, with Alamoti off-contract at the end of the season and set to watch the arrival of Bronson Xerri and Stephen Crichton, should he choose to remain at Belmore in 2024.
While Crichton is believed to have been signed to play fullback, Xerri's arrival will put a strain on the minutes available in the back, including for Alamoti if he remains at the club.
A boom youngster, Alamoti played for the junior New South Wales Blues last season before making his first-grade debut in Round 1 this season.
The talented centre has crossed for a try, added four try assists, broken 39 tackles, is running for 122 metres per game and defending solidly in an often well-beaten team.
With the Cowboys looking to freshen their backline following the loss of Peta Hiku to the English Super League at the end of the season, it had been reported that the Townsville-based club had met with Alamoti and were on the verge of making him a deal.
However, News Corp is now reporting it won't proceed to a formal offer with the Cowboys understanding Alamoti wants to remain in Sydney, whether that be taking a chance to gain minutes at Canterbury or heading to a rival club.
The Bulldogs have few roster positions available for 2024, although are still rumoured to be chasing virtually every top name off-contract - much to the disgust of director of football Phil Gould, who has regularly gone on the defensive.
Alamoti is a local junior, and it's believed the club want to keep him, which could be aided by Jake Averillo's departure. The backline utility, who had found a home at centre during the first half of this year, has signed a deal to join the Dolphins under Wayne Bennett from the start of 2024.
It's unclear at this stage whether any other Sydney clubs will come to the party in making an offer for Alamoti; however, plenty could use a centre in Alamoti's mould.
