The Wests Tigers are at risk of losing burgeoning talent Daine Laurie at the cessation of the 2022 season due to the merged entity dragging their heels on offering the 22-year-old a new deal.
While Laurie is seen internally as a crucial cog in Wests' ongoing rebuild, the mere fact the fullback remains uncertain about his future beyond the end of this year's fixture list will have set alarm bells ringing.
Although the Dolphins are reported to be keen on luring incumbent Panther Stephen Crichton ahead of their inaugural campaign, Dave Riccio ofย The Daily Telegraphย has stated that Laurie could well be seen as a consolation prize if the one-time premier is unable to be reeled north.
Though the prospect of losing the Graton Ghosts junior is one that is likely to be keeping Tigers fanatics and powerbrokers up at night, the Concord club will have until the end of October to rectify the status quo.
At the present, the former Panther is earning within the vicinity of $300,000 per season under head coach Michael Maguire's watch.
โDaine Laurie is in this boat where the Tigers have six months to extend him or he goes to market on November 1,โ Riccio told Triple M listeners.
โPersonally, I think he is a very big part of the Tigers rebuild. Very talented fullback. He was key in both those wins over Parramatta and South Sydney.
โBut at this point in time there has been no contract forthcoming for an extension for Daine Laurie."
With Reece Walsh reportedly becoming the latest star to turn down a deal with the Dolphins, Riccio was of the opinion that Laurie and his management could expect a call from Wayne Bennett and Peter O'Sullivan ahead of 2023.
โWatch this space. We keep talking about the Dolphins because the Reece Walsh decision to stay with the Warriors has opened the door for the Dolphins to start looking seriously for a fullback," the scribe stated.
โThatโs why we are talking about Stephen Crichton and I understand Daine Laurie will also come into that discussion.
โSo, Tigers fans keep an eye on that one. Hopefully, your club gets their act together and offers Daine Laurie a new contract.โ
Across his five outings in which he has played a full 80 minutes this season, Laurie has run for an average of 109 metres and produced nigh-on two-and-a-half tackle busts in each.
And while yet to cross the chalk so far in 2022, the Sydney-born speedster has created a quintet of try assists for the 2-6 Tigers.
