The Cronulla Sharks are set to lock up the future of hooker Blayke Brailey before he can hit the open market.
Quality dummy halves are in short supply on the free market, and the challenge for clubs searching for one could be about to get tougher, with News Corp reporting the club will extend an offer to Brailey to retain him until at least the end of 2030.
Brailey, who is currently off-contract at the end of 2026 and able to negotiate with rival clubs from November 1 this year, would sign a four-year extension by doing so and take him towards the end of his career.
The dummy half has been one of the competition's best this year, improving his game out of sight in previous campaigns.
It has led to calls for him to come under consideration by NSW Blues head coach Laurie Daley for the State of Origin campaign, and although the Sharks have slid down the table in recent weeks with a poor run of form, under pressure coach Craig Fitzgibbon has constantly handed praise to the durable Brailey.
Now with 154 NRL games under his belt, the four-year extension would also come with a major contract upgrade, and will serve to stretch the Sharks' salary cap even further.
Cronulla have handed out several upgrades in recent times, and have some big-dollar deals at the top of their salary cap, led by those for Addin Fonua-Blake and Nicho Hynes.
They could well be set to lose both fullback William Kennedy and young gun winger Sam Stonestreet at the end of the year due to salary cap pressures, and it wouldn't surprise to see more players leaving the Shire at the end of 2026 with money tight for Fitzgibbon and his recruitment staff.
Brailey, though, is a player the club wants to build their future around, with the 26-year-old debuting in 2019 and barely missing a game since.
