Manly Sea Eagles' prop Ethan Bullemor has revealed that he wants to remain at the Manly Sea Eagles beyond the end of his current contract.
Bullemor is off-contract at the end of this season, having originally made the move to Sydney's Northern Beaches on a two-year deal ahead of the start of last year.
He played the first 25 games of his NRL career with the Brisbane Broncos, debuting in 2020 and becoming a near-permanent part of the forward rotation during the 2021 season.
A former junior Origin player for Queensland, while also spending time in rugby union during his junior and schoolboy days, Bullemor was tipped by many as a future star of the Brisbane pack during his youth.
The move to Manly has failed to materialise into a permanent starting spot for the now versatile Bullemor, who has added the ability to play in the second-row to his skill set during his stint under Des Hasler last year, which is now continuing under Anthony Seibold.
His inability to crack a starting spot (he only played 12 games last year in the NRL) though led to reports last year that Bullemor was weighing up a surprise early retirement.
Off the field, he works in finance, and would have a career to fall back on if he exits sport.
But that's not what his plans are, with Bullemor telling The Sydney Morning Herald that he is keen to remain at the Sea Eagles under Anthony Seibold, who coached him during his time at the Brisbane Broncos.
“I've got my interests and my studies outside footy, I'll finish a Bachelor of Finance and Economics at the University of Queensland in a few months, and then on my days off I'm into the CBD and I like the balance that provides," Bullemor told the publication.
“This is an up and down career, but I've always known playing NRL is what I want to be doing. I'm coming off contract this year, and I'd dearly love to stay here at Manly. I perform better I think when I've got something else to do in my downtime.
“I can't sit around staring at the wall overthinking things, because I can do that. It gives me a great outlet and a release.”
Bullemor has played all of the first give games of the 2023 season off the bench for the Sea Eagles, managing a season-high 41 minutes in a thrashing at the hands of the Penrithers on Saturday evening during Round 6.
While his minutes have been limited, his impact off the bench has been notable, averaging 108 metres per game and making eight tackle breaks across the season to date, while also tackling at just a shade under 96 per cent.
He is stuck behind an excellent starting crop of forwards at the Sea Eagles, with Jake Trbojevic and Josh Aloiai leading the middle third, while Haumole Olakau'atu and Kelma Tuilagi have started on the edge so far this season.
The other starting spot in the middle - held by Taniela Paseka against the Panthers - is the one Bullemor will be gunning for though as he looks to push his claim for more minutes and a new contract at Manly.
The Sea Eagles have made no comment on any potential offer to Bullemor, but given they made a big play to get him out of Brisbane early, it's hard to believe Bullemor hasn't done enough to secure himself a new deal.
Penrithers?