St George lllawarra Dragons coach Shane Flanagan has admitted he isn't confident of Joseph Manu leaving the Sydney Roosters, but is willing to offer him the world to make it happen.
Manu, who is off-contract at the end of 2024, became a free agent on November 1 along with over 170 players, but the star Rooster is among the best to be on the market.
The Dragons are just one club set to make a substantial play for the star, who can play at centre, five-eighth and fullback.
That - his position - may be the key catalyst if he decides to leave the Roosters. Manu wants to play at fullback, but won't do so while he is at the Roosters - at least not in the short-term - with James Tedesco still on contract and the club captain.
But whether that would be enough to take him out of the Roosters, combined with the enormous amounts of money the Dragons are reportedly willing to offer, remains to be seen.
Recent reports suggested the Dragons may bump their offer to Manu up to as much as $1.2 million per season in an effort to lure him out of Bondi.
Flanagan has now told 9 News that he'd be willing to make Manu the captain as well if it sweetened the pot.
"I'm really, really doubtful he'll leave the Roosters, but I just wanted his management to know that if he wanted, he could be captain, fullback, do whatever he wants," Flanagan told 9News Sydney.
"I'd definitely want to have a chat with him, but it's highly unlikely it'll ever get to that stage.
"I'm not saying I'll take the captaincy off Ben (Hunt), but I want to get a quality player like Joey, I need to entice him to come down to the club.
"He's a quality player, but let's be really honest, I don't think he'll move."
If Manu leaves the Roosters, it would be the first time he has played away from the club during his career.
All the internal noise at Bondi is that they are confident Manu will re-sign, and with the club having more than half of their squad still to fill for 2025, they have plenty of wiggle room in the salary cap to match rival bids.
St George Illawarra are set to undergo a mass transformation, with offers out for Manu, Tom Dearden and Addin Fonua-Blake.
