In-form hooker Blayke Brailey could be hitting the open market with the Sharks star at odds with the club over a contract extension.
The 26-year-old local junior has been the form hooker of the NRL over the past couple of months and is keen to re-sign on a long-term deal.
Under contract until the end of next season, he wants to add five more to take him through until the end of 2030 but Cronulla have baulked at anything more than a three-year extension.
If he cannot strike a deal, he would be in hot demand on November 1 with Perth Bears entering the market as well.
Cronulla chief executive Dino Mezzatesta told The Daily Telegraph that he was confident of getting Brailey’s signature on a new deal.
“We see Blayke as a long-term player at the Sharks,” he said. “We’re not going to shy away from that. If you speak to Blayke he would say he wants to remain at the Sharks long term.
“He has come through the juniors and our academy system and now he could be the next player who replicates what Andrew Ettingshausen and Paul Gallen have done at the club. That’s how we view him at the Sharks.”
The best running hooker in the NRL over the past two months, Brailey has become one of the most important cogs in Cronulla’s title hopes.
“I have never thought about (playing against Cronulla),” Brailey said earlier this week.
“I love this club, I love this area. I grew up here. I was there when Gal lifted the trophy in 2016 and I want to be back there.
“I played on the family hill here at Shark Park. To me this place is home and hopefully the club sees that too. This is definitely home for me.”
Back in the top eight after Friday’s win over the Sydney Roosters, Cronulla can take another step towards finals on Saturday against a struggling South Sydney.
Brailey’s running game out of dummy-half has become one of the most obvious talking points about the Sharks this season.
It was a well-worn statistic last season that the Sharks won 87 per cent of games in which Brailey ran 30 metres or more, compared to 27 per cent when he ran less.
In the past five games, he has averaged 67 metres, getting Cronulla on the front foot and setting up two tries in each of the Sharks’ last two wins.
Blayke Brailey is tackled. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
“I have put a lot more pressure on myself to run, it is a non-negotiable for me now,” Brailey said.
“It is obviously working well for us when I do run we get on the front foot and it does make our side flow a bit better.”
Brailey said the change in mindset had left him in a purple patch, where it also became more obvious for him to spot the best times to take off.
“It does slow down at times. I can see it unfolding and I can see myself running before it even happens,” he said.
“That’s what’s happening at the moment … I am seeing the game a lot more clearly.”
Broncos keep Kobe from Sea Eagles’ clutches
Brisbane forward Kobe Hetherington has backed himself and the club to the hilt after rejecting a three-year deal from Manly to re-sign with the Broncos until the end of 2026.
The 26-year-old has been in hot form to lead the Broncos’ mid-season revival on the back of five wins ahead of Friday night’s clash with Parramatta at Suncorp Stadium.
Hetherington started the season at lock before coach Michael Maguire switched Pat Carrigan back there from prop in round 14.
The past two games, with State of Origin players out, Hetherington started at lock and prop and was outstanding to prove he has a future as a starting middle.
His manager Chris Haddad told AAP that Hetherington was thriving at the Broncos and had set himself an admirable goal.
“Manly made an offer for three years, but we have signed a one-year deal to see if Kobe can get his starting lock spot back. He will give it a good shot,” Haddad said.
Kobe Hetherington takes on the defence. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
“Kobe believes the side can win a grand final this year and next year and he wants to be part of that success.”
Haddad said his client was satisfied to accept a one-year deal and keep his options open, even though the Broncos were prepared to extend the length of the contract.
“Kobe loves the Broncos, but you never now what will happen in the future,” he said.
Hetherington also received interest from St George Illawarra and Canberra.
The son of former Canterbury premiership-winning hooker Jason Hetherington, Kobe is one of captain Adam Reynolds’ favourite players.
Reynolds has likened him to a cattle dog because “he has a bit of mongrel and fight in him like a cattle dog and just keeps going”.
The genesis of his prowess was in a cattle-yard in rural central Queensland.
“When Kobe and his twin Zac were five years old I would get them to tackle calves,” Jason Hetherington told AAP recently.
“I’d be doing all the cattle work and with the calves that I’d brand and let through I’d say, ‘go and tackle them boys, wrangle them, jump on them and ride them’. They would get in there and bulldog them and scruff them.”
with AAP
