Gold Coast Titans star Tino Fa’asuamaleaui has made a decision on his next contract, and it's more bad news for the Dolphins.
Fa’asuamaleaui, one of the brightest young forwards in the game and set to hit 50 NRL games the next time he is on-field, has re-signed with the Gold Coast Titans until the end of the 2026 season.
The four-year contract extension goes a long way towards locking in the Titans' long-term future in the forwards.
Fellow Origin stars David Fifita and Moeaki Fotauika are currently off-contract with the club at the end of 2023 and 2024 respectively, meaning the Titans' nucleus in the forwards is set for at least the next two seasons.
Add that to young guns Jayden Campbell and Toby Sexton, who are both off-contract at the end of 2024, and the future of the Gold Coast is looking exceptionally bright.
Fa’asuamaleaui was a marquee signing despite his young age from the Melbourne Storm ahead of the 2021 season and has gone from strength to strength for the Gold Coast, predominantly playing at lock forward, but also spending a handful of games at prop.
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The Queensland Origin forward is believed to be on a deal with the Titans of around $800,000 per year over his four-year extension.
He was named the Titans' player of the year this year and coach Justin Holbrook said Tino was an excellent long-term re-signing for the club.
“Tino is not just a great player, he is a great person,” Holbrook said.
“He’s only entering his second pre-season here at the Titans, but he has already made a huge impact on the players, staff and everyone involved in our club.
“Tino is our hardest working player who sets very high standards for himself and is always doing extras after training to improve his game."
It had been revealed in the lead-up to Fa’asuamaleaui re-signing that the Dolphins were interested in acquiring his services, however, that has fallen through.
The Dolphins are still searching for their first signature, having seemingly missed out on a handful of players already locked up to various clubs, while reports suggest Pat Carrigan and Christian Welch will also re-sign with the Brisbane Broncos and Melbourne Storm in he coming days.
