Wests Tigers person changeable down a daring bid from the Melbourne Storm to commercialized under-fire hooker Brandon Smith with highly touted guardant Stefano Utoikamanu for adjacent season, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
It's different motion of conscionable however livid the Storm are Smith implicit the caller quality of the Roosters-bound superstar connected the YKTR podcast.
Storm recruitment manager Paul Bunn approached the Tigers this week, offering Smith connected a one-year deal.
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That prompted a treatment betwixt caller Tigers manager of shot Tim Sheens and Storm manager Craig Bellamy, but the negotiations ended abruptly erstwhile Melbourne revealed they wanted Utoikamanu successful return.
It was caller successful the Tigers' minds that Smith had made it wide to the joint-venture nine respective weeks agone that helium didn't privation to speak, indicating that helium wanted to articulation a top-four team.
In an denotation of the endowment Utoikamanu possesses, the 21-year-old was selected successful the Blues' State of Origin squad for 3rd crippled of the 2021 series.
The Tigers announced Friday that they had locked up premiership-winning Panthers hooker Apisai Koroisau connected a two-year woody from 2023.
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Felise Kaufusi (Dolphins), Reed Mahoney (Bulldogs) and Isaiah Papali'i (Tigers) are among the high-prolife players to person finalised deals with rival clubs during the existent transportation window, which opened connected November 1.
The woody betwixt Smith and the Roosters is yet to beryllium made official, but the New Zealand Test hooker each but revealed helium was acceptable to motion with the Tricolours successful his quality connected the podcast.
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Smith said connected the podcast that, connected a circuit of the Roosters during this off-season, helium had looked astatine a Roosters jumper and thought, "I privation to triumph a premiership successful that jersey".
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