Days after it was confirmed that his younger brother would depart the Gold Coast Titans at the end of the season to join the Super League, the Melbourne Storm has emerged as the "biggest hurdle" in the Titans' efforts to keep Tino Fa'asuamaleaui.
One of the most prominent players who will be able to negotiate with rival teams from November 1, the State of Origin star is currently in the midst of a 10-year contract with the Titans, but has a get-out clause in his deal, which will allow him to leave at the end of the 2026 NRL season.
This has seen him already attract the interest of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, St George Illawarra Dragons and the newly established Perth Bears, who are keen to make him the highest-paid player in the NRL.
However, it is surprisingly the Storm who have emerged as the "biggest hurdle" in the Titans retaining their skipper's services beyond the conclusion of the 2026 NRL season.
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"There's been a lot of mail over the last 48 hours that it's the Melbourne Storm that will be the biggest hurdle for the Gold Coast Titans and Josh Hannay as far as keeping Tino," The Daily Telegraph's David Riccio said on Triple M's NRL Daily.
"There's a lot of mail going around that the Melbourne Storm are preparing to get their man back.
"Maybe a Nelson Asofa-Solomona and potentially a Ryan Papenhuyzen (would leave to free up space), which would be huge, but that's how significant Tino is.
"I know there has been a lot of focus on the Perth Bears and Tino, but I think the Melbourne Storm are the fly in the ointment for the Gold Coast Titans."
The continuing whispers surrounding Fa'asuamaleaui and the Melbourne Storm come after his manager, Simon Mammino, denied that there was interest from the forward's former team.
"I'm not sure where he got it from, but we've had no contact from the Melbourne Storm in any shape or form," Mammino told Wide World of Sports last week.
"To the best of my knowledge, there's no interest from the Melbourne Storm. And we're quite a while away from November 1.
"We've got to get through the season, take a deep breath, look at the international calendar and see what's going on in that space.
"We don't have to make a decision on that [Fa'asuamaleaui's NRL contract] until the middle of next year.
"To be talking about this now is premature, and even trying to discuss it with clubs when they can't put offers in is pointless."
