Penrith has granted prop Moses Leota permission to negotiate with rival clubs in a bid to free up the salary cap required to retain some of the club’s biggest names.
Leota is contracted until the end of next year, but this season could be his last at the Panthers. The premiership-winning prop can immediately begin exploring his options, rather than waiting until November 1 to do so.
There will be no shortage of interest for Leota, who is considered one of the most damaging props in the NRL.
The 30-year-old has won four premierships with the Panthers and is destined for a big payday should he decide to shift elsewhere.
While an early departure is not guaranteed, it would free up funds to spend on a raft of stars who will become free agents, should they not choose to recommit before November 1. They include Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo, Liam Martin, Brian To’o, Mitch Kenny, Isaiah Papali’i, Blaize Talagi and Paul Alamoti.
The star cohort is poised to come onto the market just in time to benefit from a likely increase in the salary cap, courtesy of a new broadcast rights deal. This masthead revealed the cap could rise to as much as $20 million by 2028, the same year the PNG Chiefs – armed with tax-free incentives – begin their inaugural campaign.
In other signing news, the Wests Tigers are set to bring winger Junior Tupou back to the club with immediate effect, with a move being finalised on the June 30 transfer deadline on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old, who has spent the last year at the Sydney Roosters, will add depth in the outside backs at the Tigers, who have lost Taylan May and Patrick Herbert to shoulder injuries, and are expected to let Perth Bears-bound Luke Laulilii join the New Zealand Warriors for the rest of the season.
Tupou made most of his 38 appearances in the NRL for the Tigers, where he made his first-grade debut in 2022, before switching to the Dolphins and then the Roosters on a contract through to the end of 2027.
In another mid-year transfer, Melbourne Storm prop and Samoa international Lazarus Vaalepu is heading to English Super League club Leigh Leopards.
Vaalepu came off the bench in the 2024 grand final when he replaced the suspended Nelson Asofa-Solomona.
Chris Barrett is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former South-East Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.
