St George Illawarra have emerged as a major threat for the signature of young gun Parramatta local junior Blaize Talagi.
The Eels have tabled a three-year deal well in excess of $1 million to retain Talagi but the Dragons have been working hard behind-the-scenes to try and get a deal done for the last couple of months.
With Red V flyer Zac Lomax set to switch clubs and join the Eels to play in the centres next season the Dragons have told Talagi there’s a clear pathway straight into the Red V NRL side in the centres.
The development will set off alarm bells for the Eels who can ill-afford to lose the 19-year-old Westfield Sports High product.
For of all Parramatta’s blunders in the recruitment and retention space dating back to 2022 losing another local junior off the back of Ethan Sanders joining the Raiders would be a cruel blow.
The agent holding all the cards in this Eels agitation is Isaac Moses who manages the affairs of NRL rookie Talagi and also did the deal for St George Illawarra coach Shane Flanagan to join the Red V.
Moses is well-known for aiming at hostile takeovers at NRL clubs and it appears he’s trying to make life as uncomfortable as possible for Eels coach Brad Arthur on this one.
Moses and Arthur are barely on talking terms at the moment meaning any negotiations on a Moses client is left to Eels chairman Sean McElduff.
It’s well-known Moses has a monopoly on the juniors coming through in the Parramatta area where he’s had lifelong strong ties.
One extremely powerful figure in the game often jokes about how Moses views NRL clubs like McDonald’s franchises.
Once he can get a head coach in at the helm then the rest of the top 30 playing roster is open for business.
Currently Moses acts as the agent for NRL head coaches Flanagan (St George Illawarra), Todd Payten (Cowboys), Adam O’Brien (Knights), Anthony Seibold (Manly) and Andrew Webster (Warriors).
Could McDonald’s Parramatta be the next item on the Moses menu?
EELS READY TO SHOP WINGER
The Parramatta Eels are quietly looking to move winger Maika Sivo.
Currently on a deal worth around $550,000-a-season, Sivo has been a shadow of the player who took the NRL by storm when he debuted back in 2019.
We’ve heard the Cowboys are interested in trying to strike a deal to bring big Maika to Townsville but have virtually no wiggle room to move in the salary cap.
Sivo was axed to NSW Cup earlier this season before being sin binned against Manly for a brain snap.
The Eels flyer has still managed to score six tries in four games this season but with Zac Lomax arriving next year Parramatta are looking to buy themselves more room in the salary cap.