Preparing for life without Daly Cherry-Evans for next season, the Manly Sea Eagles have reportedly made a call regarding their links to Brisbane Broncos skipper Adam Reynolds.
The sole captain of the Brisbane Broncos, Reynolds has aged like fine wine during his time at Red Hill which saw him guide them to the 2023 Grand Final in which they came minutes from winning the premiership before a Nathan Cleary masterclass turned things around.
A two-time representative for the NSW Blues, the veteran has played just under 300 first-grade matches and has shown that, despite his age, he is still one of the competition's elite playmakers.
Although reports previously indicated that the Sea Eagles were entertaining the idea of approaching Reynolds, they will no longer be making a formal play for the Broncos skipper, per News Corp.
"That will sort itself out in the future," Reynolds said after the Broncos win against the North Queensland Cowboys in Round 3.
"I'm enjoying myself, I've got a great team around me and the coaching staff is fantastic.
"As long as I'm continuing to enjoy my footy, I've got to keep doing my job … as long as I'm doing that, the future will look after itself."
Instead, they are set to shift their focus to Canberra Raiders playmaker Jamal Fogarty who remains unsigned for next season but he does have a club option and player option clause in his contract at the nation's capital.
The Raiders have until Round 6 to take it up on their end and then Fogarty has another 14 weeks to determine whether he wants to stay if the Green Machine don't take up their option.
That first deadline is just a fortnight away, with Fogarty hanging onto the number seven jumper for the time being despite the off-season arrival of Ethan Strange from the Parramatta Eels.
It's understood Fogarty asked for permission to negotiate his future elsewhere during the pre-season, but was knocked back by the Raiders. This also means that he will not be able to talk to rival clubs until after the Raiders make a call on his deal.
“I spoke to Jamal this week, we haven't taken too much notice of the media because we had to prepare for a game of football,” Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said.
“But to answer your question, I basically said ‘if you have got a big deal out there mate that's going to be the best thing for Kahlia and the girls, you take that but I want you at the club'.
“I don't know where they are with Manly at the moment, but I'm not too concerned either. I'm trying to win a game of football.”
