The Wests Tigers have some of the best young halves in the NRL in Lachlan Galvin and Latu Fainu, but they could be set to lose one of the best junior talents in Australia.
The Wests Tigers may have five playmakers contracted for next season: Aidan Sezer, Latu Fainu, Jayden Sullivan, Lachlan Galvin, and Jarome Luai. However, another playmaker could find himself out of the door.
A student of Scots College, Onitoni Large, has been described as the best 16-year-old player in Australia in rugby league or rugby union after captaining the Junior Wallabies and earning representative honours with the U16s NSW Blues.
As the Tigers attempt to keep him, more than 12 clubs have displayed an interest in Large, and they have been made aware of his exceptional and rare talent, per The Daily Telegraph.
He could also potentially move to the 15-man code, where he has already been awarded the Junior Wallabies captaincy and plays for Scots College.
โHe's the best 16-year-old I've ever seen," one player manager told the publication.
Large signed a five-year contract with the Wests Tigers under former coach Tim Sheens. However, his manager, Craig Baker, admitted that his future remains uncertain at the Tigers.
A key figure in the Western Suburbs Magpies' run to the Harold Matthews Cup Grand Final, Large was unfortunately ruled out of the backend of the competition due to injury.
His brother Ashton Large is also contracted with the Wests Tigers and plays as a hooker. Ashton will likely be contending with Tallyn Da Silva in the future to become the club's future No.9 following Apisai Koroisau's retirement.
โWhen we signed under Sheensy he said he'd be there for five years,โ Baker told The Daily Telegraph.
โThey sold us a pathway to first grade under Tim. There has been a lot of significant change since then.
โThey've made decisions to bring other halves that was not consistent with what we were told.โ
