Gold Coast Titans' co-captain Jamal Fogarty has been linked with a shock move to the Canberra Raiders.
Despite only signing a contract extension earlier this year, tying him to the south east corner of Queensland until at least the end of 2023, the Raiders are said to be keen on the consistent half.
First reported by Pete Badel of the Courier Mail, Fogarty paints an intriguing target for the green machine.
Breaking: Jamal Fogarty set to make a shock departure from the Titans with the Raiders keen to sign the Gold Coast co-captain @travismeyn @brentread_7
— Pete Badel (@badel_cmail) September 22, 2021
Conflicting reports have since emerged however, suggesting the Titans are unlikely to grant their co-captain an early release.
It would hardly be a surprise given the show of faith they put in Fogarty with a new deal early this year, and Channel 9s Danny Weidler said the club will refuse to release Fogarty.
LATEST: @RaidersCanberra have been told by the @GCTitans they are not releasing Jamal Fogarty @NRLonNine @9NewsSyd
— Danny Weidler (@Danny_Weidler) September 23, 2021
The 27-year-old, who was a late debutant in the NRL and has only landed a more permanent spot in the Titans' best 17 over the last 24 months, has been consistently strong for the Gold Coast.
The Beaudesert-born half has often made the team look better around him, however, the Titans were going into 2022 with too many cooks for the broth, while the Raiders simply don't have enough.
THE emergence of Toby Sexton and Jayden Campbell on the Gold Coast will seem them needing to find a way to give both youngsters first grade playing time in 2022.
Even the departure of Ashley Taylor didn't help though, given Fogarty and AJ Brimson are still at the club. Should Fogarty leave, it'll mean Brimson can shift into the halves alongside Sexton, while Campbell can retain the fullback position he finished the season at while Brimson was injured.
In Canberra, the signing of a player of Fogarty's class makes even more sense.
George Williams' mid-season departure left the club somewhat reeling, and they were never able to effectively replace him, with Sam Williams and Matt Frawley unable to do a good enough job on a consistent basis.
It led to an erosion of Jack Wighton's form, and eventually, Ricky Stuart's side ending up missing out on the finals.
