The St George Illawarra Dragons are believed to be the second club to place a formal offer in front of Addin Fonua-Blake.
The star prop, who requested a release from the New Zealand Warriors, played a chunk of his junior rugby league with the Dragons and now a homecoming could be on the table.
While Fonua-Blake wanted his release to be immediate on compassionate grounds to move back to Sydney where his parents are located, it has ultimately been agreed that he will remain in Auckland for the 2024 campaign before being permitted to head elsewhere.
The Dragons are joined by the Wests Tigers in having already put offers to Fonua-Blake's management, while the Cronulla Sharks are also reportedly weighing up their options.
The Canterbury Bulldogs had also met with the prop, but are now believed to be out of the running, having decided to not proceed with an offer.
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting though that the prop has received an offer from the Dragons in the realms of $4.5 million over four years.
That offer will, at the very least, match the offer from the Tigers, although it's unclear at this stage whether the Tongan representative and 2023 Dally M team of the year member has a preference over where he will play his rugby league from the start of the 2025 season.
It's believed the Tigers have also added the role of captain to sweeten the pot for Fonua-Blake, although some of the final decision may yet come down to the Warriors, who, as recently as last week hadn't given up total hope that the forward may have a change of heart and instead see out his contract across the Tasman.
If the release moves ahead though, it's believed the Warriors will want a player swap which puts the Tigers well and truly on the front foot given they could potentially offer up David Klemmer, who has already been linked with a departure to gain Jarome Luai from the Penrith Panthers early.
If the club were to sign both Luai and Fonua-Blake on more than a million dollar per year deals, Klemmer would likely need to depart in the name of salary cap space.
It's unclear whether the Dragons have any players the Warriors would show interest in, although the club at one stage was understood to be in talks with Jack de Belin before he re-signed with the Dragons.
