Wests Tigers CEO Shane Richardson has admitted the club may lose Tallyn da Silva at the end of his contract.
The young dummy half, rated as one of the best in the game and among the next wave of Tigers' players who will form the future of the club, is off-contract at the end of 2026.
It was reported a few weeks ago that rival clubs were already watching the situation with interest, and there was a strong chance of da Silva testing the open market.
If he leaves the club, he would do so at the same time as five-eighth Lachlan Galvin, who has already been confirmed to be on the way out at the end of 2026, although that timeline could well be brought forward sooner.
Da Silva is off-contract at the same time as Apisai Koroisau, and News Corp are reporting the captain will be offered a new deal.
It would appear there is next to no chance of da Silva wanting to hang around to play reserve grade beyond the end of 2026, and given the skinny market for dummy halves, as well as expansion teams joining the competition in 2027 and 2028, da Silva will be hot property.
Richardson admitted da Silva's contract call will likely hinge on the Tigers' decision regarding their captain.
โTallyn doesn't want to move on mate,โ Richardson was quoted by the publication.
โTallyn's decision I think will be based around what we do with Api and that's fair enough. He wants to play first grade.โ
Koroisau is believed to be not sold on playing beyond 2026 yet, and so it could be some time before a deal is struck for his career to move into 2027, although it's likely the Tigers will put the pressure on for a decision well before November 1 so they can go to da Silva with a confident view of what's happening.
The youngster is a Tigers junior and has 18 NRL games under his belt, but most of them have come off the bench and he is stuck playing second fiddle again in 2025, as he will be in 2026 and beyond if Koroisau stays fit and then extends.
At 20 years of age, da Silva will be nearly 22 by the time the 2027 campaign starts, and ready to breakout into his own number nine jersey, whether that be at Concord or elsewhere.
While dummy halves are in high demand around the competition, the Tigers will have money to throw at da Silva following Galvin's deflection from the club.
โHow much money you've got depends on whether Lachie is here or not. Now I can actually think about the Tallyn da Silvia's and (Adam) Doueihi and (Brent) Naden's and everybody else in his club. So it's not a bad thing that way," Richardson admitted.
