Wests Tigers' star forward Stefano Utoikamanu is on the verge of being signed to a long-term extension at Concord.
The Tigers have been under the blowtorch recently when it comes to off-field decisions regarding their squad, with a small recruitment list for 2022 featuring only Tyrone Peachey to go with Jackson Hastings and Oliver Gildart from the English Super League.
There has also been the seemingly never-ending Luke Brooks saga.
While Brooks will return to pre-season this week and has submitted all necessary paperwork to the Tigers meaning he won't be linking up with the Newcastle Knights as reported anytime soon, it's the story which refuses to go away.
The Tigers and their fans have been dragged through something of a circus over the off-season, with the club also ordering a rather public internal review into the season just completed.
It was a season which saw the Tigers finish in the bottom four and Michael Maguire come under the microscope, although he has managed to keep his job under new director of football and former premiership-winning coach Tim Sheens.
But in a rare spot of good news for the club, The Daily Telegraph are reporting that Stefano Utoikamanu is set to put pen to paper on a two-year extension beyond the end of his current deal at the end of 2023.
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That will save him from being able to negotiate from Novembr 1 next year, and will be one of the earliest lock downs of an off-contract player at the end of 2023.
It's understood the deal, which will see him remain at the joint-venture until at least the end of 2025, will also feature an upgrade in salary and terms for the remaining years of his current deal, being 2022 and 2023.
Utoikamanu was a prized recruit from the Parramatta Eels when he originally made the jump to the Tigers ahead of the 2021 season.
While he took some time to find his feet, the former New South Wales junior Origin representative, and 2021 wider squad member for Game 3, managed 21 games for the Tigers and by the end of the season was something of a mainstay in the starting side.
He crossed for six tries during the season as his skills improved seemingly with every passing week, making him a prized re-signing for the Tigers should the deal come through in the coming weeks.
