One of the more talented youngsters coming through the St George Illawarra Dragons system has reportedly toured the facilities of a rival team as he looks to make his NRL first-grade debut later this year.
Able to speak with rival clubs since the end of Round 6, Finau Latu's future remains uncertain as he remains uncontracted beyond the conclusion of this season.
Primarily playing as a lock, he is part of the next generation of forwards at the Dragons and has slowly transitioned from the Harold Matthews Cup to making his NSW Cup debut last season.
After reports emerged that several rival teams had expressed an interest in Latu, The Daily Telegraph has since reported that he met with the Newcastle Knights last Tuesday.
It is understood that coach Adam O'Brien and head recruiter Peter O'Sullivan gave him a full tour of the Knights' Centre of Excellence during the meeting.
โHe is off contract and we want to keep him, yes,โ Flanagan told The Daily Telegraph.
โFinau has a contract which goes until round six and he can then see what's out there. His manager wants to see what the going price was.
โWe gave them permission to get it done a week early so we can hopefully get it down earlier."
A junior of the Minchinbury Jets and 2023 Australian Schoolboys representative, Latu has been in the Dragons' pathways system since 2022 and is now a member of their Top 30 roster.
"He is one of several players who are our future who also played in that SG Ball grand final. He's a really good, young kid," Flanagan added.
โA lot of those SG Ball players will come up and play first grade. We've seen a couple come through already โ Hamish (Stewart) and Dylan Egan and I reckon Finau is probably the next one.
โI would think he'd make his NRL debut at some point this year.โ
