Melbourne Storm star Stefano Utoikamanu has been sensationally linked with the Sydney Roosters from the end of 2027.
The Roosters have a war chest and won't be afraid to use it on the open market, with players leaving in recent years yet to be replaced, and the likely retirement of James Tedesco not all that far into the future.
Some of the cash is going the way of Sam Walker, who is set to agree to an extension well into the seven figures, but Trent Robinson and his recruitment staff are well aware they will need to scour the market for improvements if they want to remain at the top of the NRL, despite taking out the 2026 premiership in a thrilling grand final against the Newcastle Knights.
Utoikamanu, off-contract at the end of 2027, was considered part of the best junior forwards as he worked his way through the ranks at the Parramatta Eels and then Wests Tigers, and has unsurprisingly taken his game to another level in Melbourne under Craig Bellamy since moving south.
The star prop has been tabled a two-year deal by the Melbourne Storm, but is yet to take it up.
While reports not long ago were confident the Storm would get the deal over the line, that has now taken a dramatic about-face, with News Corp reporting the Sydney Roosters are ready to offer him big dollars to return to the harbour city.
The deal, which will likely be tabled in the first days of November 1, will be joined by one for Herbie Farnworth, with the Roosters running a two-point plan of representative calibre players to stay competitive alongside the likely extension for halfback Walker, and a host of young guns making their way through the club's system.
At the head of that list is second-rower Salesi Foketi, who is understood to be on the verge of signing a three-year contract to stay at Bondi Junction.
It's understood the Roosters view Stefano Utoikamanu as a long-term replacement for Lindsay Collins, who is contracted to the end of 2028 but could stay at the club beyond that timeline, while the club is also yet to replace Spencer Leniu, who has joined the Parramatta Eels on a four-year deal.
The Roosters also face the looming threat of Nat Butcher departing, with his contract expiring at the end of 2027, although they are hardly short with the pack to continue to be led by Naufahu Whyte after his breakout 2026 campaign.
It's understood Utoikamanu, who has been at the Storm since 2025, where he has played 49 of his 127 NRL games, has put negotiations on pause until at least the end of the World Cup, where he is playing for Samoa.
