David Fifita is a wanted man, with the Penrith Panthers reportedly set to meet with the Titans forward in Sydney in a shock development.
Fifita has been in outstanding form for the Titans, who are playing much better football of late than their ladder position of 16th suggests.
Fifita has a trigger clause in his contract for next year, but he needs to trigger it by Thursday at 8pm (when Round 10 starts). If he doesn’t, Fifita will be a free to sign with any team for 2025 and beyond.
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According to the SMH’s Michael Chammas, Fifita flew into Sydney on Sunday to meet with Panthers coach Ivan Cleary.
“They’ve expressed interest in his services, it hasn’t gone to the point of an offer, but they do want to meet with David Fifita to discuss his motivation for potentially leaving the Gold Coast Titans,” Chammas said.
“They do have close to a $1 million in the salary cap now available to them.”
The Panthers have lost a raft of players to free agency in recent seasons, with the back-to-back-to-back premiers feeling the salary cap squeeze.
One of those players is star front rower James Fisher-Harris, who is departing Penrith at the end of the season to head to the Warriors, which will clear up close to $1 million a season from the cap as Chammas alluded to.
Despite the fact Fifita could fetch seven figures on the open market, it has been reported that Penrith aren’t willing to offer that much.
Originally published as Panthers’ $1m warning shot in shock move that could trigger Fifita bidding war