New Zealandย rugby union star and the twin brother ofย Leo Thompson, Tyrone Thompson, has vehemently denied that he has signed a contract with the Newcastle Knights.
Late last year, reports emerged that Thompson had agreed to join brother Leo Thompson at the Knights on a one-year development contract for the 2025 season after his current deal with New Zealand Rugby expires at the end of 2024.
However, Thompson has admitted to Stuff that he has yet to sign a deal with the club and he could very well stay in the 15-man code beyond the expiration of his current contract.
โWell, we're still trying to go through it all,โ he said when asked byย Stuffย about the potential cross-code switch.
โI'm considering it, I've definitely got interest in it. But I've still got aspirations here as well. So I'm seeing how it plays out. There's nothing set yet.โ
The 23-year-old is currently plying his craft at the Chiefs in the Super Rugby. He has also earned representative honours after touring with the All Blacks and Maori All Blacks in 2022 and has played for Wellington, Hawke's Bay, and the Chiefs.
Despite having no rugby league background - unlike his brother Leo - Tyrone, who towers over the opposition at 186 centimetres and 111 kilograms, is a powerful ball-runner and has shown skill with the ball in his hand.
His current coach at the Cheifs, Clayton McMillan, spoke on the peculiar situation and revealed that the NRL was a threat to poach Tyrone Thompson from the rugby union game.
โIt's an exciting game to watch, and in his eyes there's an itch there that he's just dying to scratch,โ McMillan told the publication.
โThe good thing is that he's been very open and transparent about his desire to give league a crack, and there's a lot of appeal, particularly to go and play with his twin brother, and I get that.
โBut we're working really hard at our end to give him confidence that he's highly-valued in our environment.
"And, looking around the country, he's got to be rising up the ranks. So he's got a lot to think about, and we're not putting him under any pressure at this stage to make a definitive decision.โ
