Melbourne Storm prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona is reportedly set to confirm that he will stay with the club beyond the end of his current contract.
The Storm star has been a key target of Rugby Australia in recent times as they attempt to build their stocks and popularity ahead of mammoth events on their own calendar in coming years.
The British and Irish Lions will tour Australia in 2025 before the Rugby World Cup heads down under during 2027.
The two biggest events in the rugby cycle have already claimed the signature of Joseph Suaalii, who will leave the Sydney Roosters at the end of 2024 to switch back to the sport he played during his junior years.
The Roosters fullback could yet be joined by a number of other NRL stars, but it's believed Asofa-Solomona won't be one of them, with the star Storm prop set to put pen to paper on a deal that will keep him at the club until at least the end of 2026, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
Storm officials are reportedly confident that the deal is done.
It's believed the three-year extension will be a significant upgrade for Asofa-Solomona, who at 27 years of age has become one of the game's elite forwards and even spent time in the second row during something of an injury crisis for the Storm at the back-end of the 2022 season.
Despite his tendency for on-field ill-discipline, Asofa-Solomona, who is currently out injured, was enormous for the Storm during the opening two weeks of this season and has played a total of 166 NRL games since his debut for the club back in 2015.
The star Melbourne prop's injury has been a major blow for the club, who were looking at the Kiwi representative and Fijian representative prop partner Tui Kamikamica to stand up in the absence of a number of key departures in the forwards, including the Bromwich brothers and Felise Kaufusi this year.
Asofa-Solomona is expected to return from injury in Round 8.
