An NRL club has reportedly turned down the chance to sign 2023 Grand Final winner and current Newcastle Knights playmaker Jack Cogger.
After a standout season for the Penrith Panthers in 2023, where he played a crucial role filling in for Jarome Luai and Nathan Cleary, Cogger fell from grace last year at the Knights.
Seen as the answer to the club's halves problem, he shifted between the starting halves, the interchange bench and the NSW Cup.
This saw him struggle with form and create any consistent combinations with Jackson Hastings, Tyson Gamble and Will Pryce.
RELATED >> ROUND 1 TEAM TALK (Newcastle Knights vs Wests Tigers)
Behind Fletcher Sharpe and Tyson Gamble in the halves pecking order, The Daily Telegraph reports that Cogger (still contracted until 2026) was linked with a move to The Dolphins before the Queensland club turned down the chance to sign him.
Unsurprisingly, The Dolphins didn't pursue the 27-year-old as they have Isaiya Katoa, Kodi Nikorima and Sean O'Sullivan on their books and recently shut down rumours linking them with New Zealand international Dylan Brown.
The revelation comes as the Knights continue to look to shake up their roster after they lost Daniel Saifiti and Leo Thompson to rival clubs and have told others to look for a club elsewhere as they attempt to free up more space in their salary cap.
It also comes after the club has been heavily linked with a move for Parramatta Eels five-eighth Dylan Brown, who was recently offered to all 16 rival NRL teams and the 15-man code.
RELATED >> Ranking every NRL's team need for Dylan Brown
According to News Corp, three NRL teams have discussed offering Brown a ten-year contract worth around $11 million to lure him away from the Parramatta Eels.
While these clubs have yet to be named, the Knights previously tabled him a six-year contract worth a little over a million per season (per foxsports.com.au) and they will likely continue to remain in the hunt for the marquee playmaker until he decides on his future.
