Melbourne has reportedly begun shopping their wantaway rake Brandon Smith ahead of the final year of his deal in the southern capital, however, their early bargaining is said to have hit a hitch.
Andrew Webster of The Sydney Morning Herald has claimed that the Craig Bellamy lead club are keen to part ways with loquacious dummy half, but their opening offer of a trade to the Wests Tigers was said to have been denied.
With Smith now certain to ink a deal with the Sydney Roosters from 2023 onwards after his unsubtle revelations on a YKTR podcast, the Storm are said to have contacted the Tigers about a straight trade for Stefano Utoikamanu.
Given the Concord club's announcement on Friday that they had agreed to terms with dual premiership hooker Api Koroisau on a two-year deal set to commence in 2023, Michael Maguire still requires a veteran to play the ball next season.
Still, Webster suggested that Melbourne's asking price for the Kiwi international was too rich, with the Tigers' director of football Tim Sheens baulking at parting with Utoikamanu despite his close, personal relationship with Bellamy.
While Wests were happy to confirm these advances from south of the Murray, the Storm have denied all claims and instead suggested that if conversations had been held over Smith's status, they were not started by them.
This notion has come in the wake of Melbourne's statement in which they claimed the 25-year-old will stay on their books in 2022.
Irrespective of where Smith ends up spinning a Steeden next season, the Waiheke Islander will still need to face the music in Melbourne when he returns to pre-season training next Tuesday.
With this latest public saga said to have angered folks from the boardroom to the locker room in Victoria, it appears almost certain that the 2020 premiership player will have no rights to the starting nine jersey if he sees out his deal at AAMI Park.
