Sam Verrills will sign with the Sydney Roosters on a development deal for 2027 as he looks to resume his NRL career.
The dummy half left the Gold Coast Titans at the end of 2026 in bitter circumstances.
Falling down the pecking order under head coach Josh Hannay throughout the course of the season, his departure was met with a chorus of support from his partner, indicating the end of his stint on the glitter strip had not been all sunshine and rainbows.
The dummy half, who began his career at the Roosters and seemed the long-term replacement for Jake Friend having played in the 2019 NRL Grand Final ultimately struggled to break through properly following his move to the Titans.
It appeared earlier this year he was destined for the English Super League, where he would have linked up with St Helens or another club, but his preference was to remain in Australia if at all possible.
St Helens have since set their sights on other dummy halves including Tom Starling, with Verrills instead set to sign with the Roosters according to News Corp.
It's believed he will sign a development deal to begin with in 2027, with the club, all things being equal, then prepared to upgrade him to a Top 30 spot come the middle of the season.
The move is a salary cap concious one from the Roosters. Teams only need to have 29 players signed at the start of the season, and can upgrade or sign a player in to their 30th spot before the June 30 deadline.
Verrills will now likely find himself in that position, although development players can now play from Round 1 under rules changed a few years ago.
It means the dummy half, who is familar with Trent Robinson's coaching style, will likely enter a two-way fight with Benaiah Ioelu to be the back-up dummy half to Reece Robson at the club.
Robson still has three years to run on his deal after shifting to the tri-colours from the North Queensland Cowboys at the end of 2025.
Verrills has played 117 NRL games, and will become one of the stranger development contracts in the history of the sport given they are generally reserved for players at the beginning of their career.
The hooker played 48 games for the Roosters, and has managed 69 for the Titans since the move.
