In a shock revelation, it has been revealed recently signed St George Illawarra Dragons fullback Clint Gutherson reached out to the Manly Sea Eagles about potentially joining the club.
Gutherson was released by Parramatta for the final year of what was his ongoing deal in 2025 a number of weeks ago, but it was clear negotiations with the Dragons had dragged on.
He eventually signed with the club on a three-year deal after it had been reported the Red V only wanted to offer him a two-year deal to join the club.
The former Parramatta captain, who could walk straight into the same role at the Dragons who have chased experience this off-season by signing not only Gutherson, but also ex-South Sydney Rabbitohs hooker Damien Cook and current Queensland Maroons outside back Valentine Holmes, had reportedly become frustrated with the pace of negotiations between his camp and the Dragons.
It has now been revealed by Wide World of Sports' The Mole that Gutherson's camp reached out to the Manly Sea Eagles to determine if there was any chance of the fullback finishing his career where it began.
Gutherson played the first five games of his NRL career for Manly between 2013 and 2015 before shifting to the Eels in 2016 where he became a club legend, playing 206 games.
The report suggests Manly did consider making a play for Gutherson, but ultimately opted out given salary cap issues.
Manly's salary cap has been widely questioned in recent times, and while the club have taken steps to claim there are no issues, there is little doubting that the club have a top heavy roster, with big deals for Tom and Jake Trbojevic, Daly Cherry-Evans and Haumole Olakau'atu among others.
There is also a question around where Gutherson would have lined up for Manly, although the same issue presents at the Dragons. It has been widely suggested Gutherson won't be able to continue playing fullback moving forward given his knees, and it's unclear where he will play at the Dragons with Tyrell Sloan wearing number one in 2024.
Tom Trbojevic is the walk-up starting fullback at the Sea Eagles.
Gutherson, for his part, has shown nothing but eagerness to begin work with the Dragons.
โI feel really excited and honoured to be able to come here and put this jersey on and have that badge on my chest,โ Gutherson told club media after signing on.
โI can move forward to where I want to go as a player and as a person and there's no better club for that than the Dragonsโฆ The rich history that this club has is second to none.โ
