Martin Taupau might be off-contract at the end of the 2022 NRL season and still wondering where his future lies in the competition, but that question has reportedly been answered for his younger brother.
18-year-old Junior Taupau is rated as one of the best young talents in the game, having played for the Canterbury Bulldogs in their Harold Matthews Cup team last year, before playing with the Dogs as they made the SG Ball semi-finals this year.
His time in blue and white is reportedly coming to an end though, with The Daily Telegraph reporting the Cronulla Sharks have signed him on a two-year deal.
Already tipping the scales at 104 kilograms and standing at 188 centimetres, the younger Taupau may not quite be in the same weight class as his older brother, but has talent scouts excited at the Sharks over what his future holds.
He has another year level in the SG Ball Cup competition - for players under the age of 19 - but will likely progress to the Sharks' Jersey Flegg team at the completion of the SG Ball next season, with that competition wrapping up in May.
It means he will have a chance to impress in the under-21s competition and, by the end of his two-year deal, be pushing for a call up to the NSW Cup team at the club.
It comes as Martin Taupau continues to look for a new home.
It has been widely reported that he has been told he has no future at the Manly Sea Eagles, where his mega contract comes to an end at the end of this season.
With form on the decline, it's tipped Taupau would have to take a significant pay cut to sign a new deal in the NRL, although at this stage it's unclear if any clubs have shown interest.
Cronulla are one club who could do with size in their forward pack however to go alongside the excellent work ethic of Dale Finucane and Cameron McInnes, so it wouldn't be completely out of the question that the 32-year-old finds himself in black, white and blue next season.
