The battle for Penrith Panthers prop Spencer Leniu is going up the gears, with the Sydney Roosters reportedly throwing their hat in the ring for the rising star.
The challenge for Penrith to hold the former junior New South Wales State of Origin player has already gone up the gears in recent weeks, with both the Canterbury Bulldogs and St George Illawarra Dragons believed to have made plays.
The Panthers are understood to be keen on retaining the 22-year-old Auckland-born forward at the club, but the battle is being lost for the men from the foot of the mountains on two fronts.
On the financial front, the Panthers' salary cap is already stretched, and the level to which they can upgrade Leniu won't match that of the Dragons, Bulldogs, or seemingly now the Roosters.
Role is also an issue for Leniu - both James Fisher-Harris and Moses Leota are locked in to continue their time as the starting props in Ivan Cleary's side, and Leniu will be stuck behind them.
The Panthers are believed to be hoping that the lure of winning premierships will stop him from going to struggling clubs the Bulldogs and Dragons, but the Roosters could present the perfect option for Leniu.
News Corp are reporting that the Roosters were keen on Thomas Flegler, but are now diverting that money to Leniu after the one-time Queensland representative narrowed his options to the Broncos or Dolphins, wanting to remain in Queensland.
The Manly Sea Eagles are also understood to have made an offer to Flegler.
The Roosters diverting the cash to Leniu however is a clear sign they are preparing for life after Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, who could either retire or head to the English Super League at the end of the year - as Siosiua Taukeiaho did at the end of the 2022 campaign.
That would leave the Roosters leaving their two most experienced middle forwards in as many years, a void the club believe Leniu could fill.
It's unclear what sort of financial package the Roosters could offer Leniu, given they are believed to have just signed Dominic Young from 2024 on a deal that will be at least four years in length.
Young will be on substantial money, while the club already have big contracts locked away for Nat Butcher, Lindsay Collins, Angus Crichton, Luke Keary, Brandon Smith, Sam Walker and captani James Tedesco for 2024 and beyond.
Leniu's arrival would see him likely move into the starting side however alongside Lindsay Collins, although it's believed the Dragons and Bulldogs are not out of the hunt yet for the Panthers' prop, who played for Samoa at the 2022 Rugby League World Cup.
Under the sombrero:
These figures are taken from Zero Tackle, with the last few estimates from elsewhere:
Daniel Toupo 400
Luke Keary 850
Joseph Manu 700
Victor Radley 500
Brandon Smith 800
Lindsay Collins 550
James Tedesco 1100
Jarad WH 700
Sam Walker 700?
Joseph Suali 450?
Angus Crichton 500?
That is about $7 million for eleven players. Most of these players would have signed contracts when the cap was under $10 million, so the other 19 players would have been splitting up about $2.5 million between them; scarcely above minimum wage for the NRL.
If JWH leaves at the end of the year the Roosters can’t just offer Leniu the $700K that JWH was on. A big chunk of that will have to go to Dom Young. So, with the “not much over minimum wage” guys wanting a raise, they must surely struggle to find big money for Leniu, legitimately.