The Canberra Raiders have moved to emphatically shut down any link between them and a chase for Penrith Panthers prop Moses Leota.
Leota is off-contract at the end of 2027, but sent a bombshell through the NRL earlier this year when he was given permission to negotiate his future away from the Panthers early.
The move came as Penrith started to wrangle with a dangerously bloated salary cap, and a large list of players off-contract at the end of 2027, including Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo.
It's understood Leota hasn't been offered anything concrete by the Panthers beyond the end of 2027 at this stage, and that the expectation is he will not only play that season for them, but not have permission to sign elsewhere early until Penrith understand what is happening with Cleary and Yeo, despite being given permission to negotiate.
The duo are unlikely to make decisions before November 1, which could remove any leverage Penrith has with Leota, who is understood to want to stay at the foot of the mountains.
In the latest update this week, it was revealed six clubs - with four of them named - have expressed interest in Leota.
“We reported to them the interest from at least six clubs with the Raiders, Eels, Titans and Roosters leading the way, but we have to wait until they see what Cleary and Yeo are doing and how much money they have in the cap," Leota's manager Gavin Orr told Wide World of Sports.
“They want to keep him and he wants to stay, but it all comes down to the cap.”
While the Raiders were named, CEO Don Furner has rubbished those reports, telling The Canberra Times he has no idea where they have come from.
"Utter rubbish. I don't know where that's come from. I've got no idea where that's come from," Furner told the publication.
"No one's spoken to him or about him. We won't be going after him."
The Raiders being linked to Leota was an obvious one as the club looks likely to lose Corey Horsburgh who by all reports wants to head back to Queensland.
While the Raiders have plenty of young forwards, Leota would be an immediate replacement for the aggressive State of Origin candidate, although Furner again confirmed there has been no movement, and Horsburgh does not have permission to talk to other clubs until November 1.
