Melbourne Storm star fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen has commented his future as he remains unsigned beyond next season and has been heavily linked with a move to the Canterbury Bulldogs.
Papenhuyzen will run off-contract at the end of the 2025 NRL season and has since become one of the competition's biggest free agents after not re-signing with the Storm before the November 1 deadline.
Battling injuries over the last 24 months, he is still one of the game's premium elite fullbacks and has been heavily linked with the Canterbury Bulldogs since late October.
Considered the frontrunner to secure his signature, the Bulldogs have completely revamped their roster over the past 24 months under the guise of Cameron Ciraldo and Phil Gould and Papenhuyzen's arrival would create them into an instant title contender.
Speaking about his future onย Triple M's Rush Hour with JB & Billy, Papenhuyzen didn't confirm where he will be beyond 2025 but admitted that he is "weighing up" his future and is more focused on winning a premiership rather than taking the deal that would secure him a larger pay cheque.
โI want to win premierships,โ Papenhuyzen said.
โI know my career has only got so long in it. You want to be in the best environment where you have got that growth mindset and you have a good roster.
โI am weighing up all those things at the moment. Melbourne definitely do have that, for sure. But we've just had a couple of people leave lately and I'm sort of waiting to see who we can get in those positions to fill in.
โSo definitely more of a thinking decision, than money. It always plays its part. I have been able to sit down and speak to a few mentors who have said with big decisions you have to take your time with it, don't rush into it.โ
The Bulldogs' interest comes as it is understood that the Storm only aims to re-sign him on a new deal worth around $750,000 a season, which is $200,000 less than what he will be on for the 2025ย NRLย season.
That is partially due to Melbourne's top-heavy roster, which includes big contracts in the range of a million dollars per season for Jahrome Hughes, Cameron Munster, and Harry Grant.
The Cronulla Sharks and Parramatta Eels previously showed interest in his services but are no longer in the race and it is understood that the Storm have tabled him a three-year contract extension.
However, the new deal to retain Papenhuzen may have long-term ramifications for the club involving boom rookieย Sua Fa'alogo.
Theย Melbourne Stormย reportedly have a handshake agreement withย Sua Fa'alogo's management to explore his contract ifย Ryan Papenhuyzenย extends his time with the club.
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โI've still got a year left in Melbourne, so I'm not going anywhere (for 2025),โ he added.
โBut as of a year left on your contract, you can start negotiating with other clubs, so there's a bit of speculation purely based off I haven't signed anything with the Storm yet.
โIt's pretty hard to avoid all the stuff going around on social media. I guess I haven't made a decision yet.
โThere's a lot of narrative around it being money, which is quite easy to speculate about, but that's something I've been really strong on the whole time, is it's not money.โ
