Penrith’s secret meeting with Titans back-rower David Fifita

1 week ago 6

The Penrith Panthers are acceptable to conscionable with damaging Titans back-rower David Fifita successful Sydney implicit the adjacent 24 hours arsenic the reigning champions see entering the marketplace for his services.

After agreeing to merchandise New Zealand prop James Fisher-Harris to the Warriors connected compassionate grounds from adjacent season, the Panthers person identified Fifita arsenic a imaginable replacement successful their guardant pack.

The departure of Fisher-Harris volition escaped up adjacent to $1 cardinal successful Penrith’s wage headdress for adjacent twelvemonth and the nine has expressed involvement successful utilizing immoderate of that wealth connected Fifita.

The Queensland second-rower has an enactment successful his declaration with the Titans for adjacent season, but is yet to trigger the deal.

Sources with cognition of the concern talking connected the information of anonymity told the Herald Fifita was owed to alert into Sydney connected Sunday day to drawback up with Panthers manager Ivan Cleary.

Fifita has until kick-off successful the opening crippled of circular 10 (this Thursday astatine 8pm) to instrumentality up the enactment successful his Titans deal. Failure to instrumentality up the enactment volition effect successful him becoming a escaped agent.

David Fifita could beryllium connected the move.

Fifita’s partner, Titans NRLW subordinate Shaylee Bent, hails from Glenmore Park conscionable 5 minutes from Penrith. Fifita has told those adjacent to him that helium wants to triumph a premiership and is considering a determination distant from the Titans, who are languishing successful 16th presumption aft 9 rounds.

The Panthers are known for their diligence successful managing the wage headdress and are improbable to connection Fifita 7 figures if they determine to prosecute his services. A conscionable and greet connected Sunday day volition beryllium pivotal successful determining the adjacent step.

Should discussions advancement beyond Sunday’s meeting, the Panthers volition considerrestructuring their guardant battalion to accommodate the accomplishment of Fifita.

The Panthers person respective options with the funds disposable to them, including pursuing Wests Tigers prop Stefano Utoikamanu.

Utoikamanu has clauses successful his woody that let him to permission the Tigers astatine the extremity of the twelvemonth if they neglect to marque the apical eight, oregon helium fails to play astatine slightest 2 Origin games for NSW this year.

The Panthers person placed an accent connected retaining homegrown endowment passim a palmy authorities nether Cleary and person not been successful a presumption to motion a marquee subordinate from a rival nine for galore years.

The past clip the nine spent large dollars connected a subordinate from a rival nine was erstwhile signing James Tamou (2017) and James Maloney (2018), some of whom were brought to the nine nether erstwhile wide manager Phil Gould.

As good arsenic Fisher-Harris, the Panthers volition besides suffer Jarome Luai and Sunia Turuva to the Wests Tigers adjacent season. They person managed to clasp hooker Mitch Kenny and centre Taylan May successful caller months.

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