It hadn't occurred to me, but we do have a few coming off contract end of 2024, and are therefore available to sign elsewhere as of November 1. From my reckoning we've got the following:
- Corey Oates (PO... is theoretically off contract for next year right now)
- Ezra Mam
- Adam Reynolds
- Billy Walters
-Payne Haas
- Kurt Capewell
- Jordan Riki
- Patrick Carrigan
- Brendan Piakura
- Deine Mariner
- Jock Madden
- Delouise Hoeter
I'd have my ranking of priority as follows:
- Patrick Carrigan - Highest priority. Absolutely must get done and must get done within the first half of the year, including an upgrade on existing contract... extension and upgrade through to 2027 would be my preference
- Payne Haas - High priority and probably needs to be done in the first half of the year. He might only be looking to take a 2-3yr extension plus upgrade of his 2024 deal. 3-4yr at $900k-$1m probably not the end of the world from a risk perspective... compared to a 5-6yr deal at $1m
- Ezra Mam - High priority… although manager may hold things up to get a gauge on value and length. Feel he can be left till second half of the year to see how he goes this year and viability as a long term component for our spine moving forward. Key component will be price and length… I'd be happy with 2yr extension and upgrade of next year's deal, so we don't get stuck with a bad contract until we are absolutely certain of his talent
- Deine Mariner - Has become a priority due to departure of Herbie. Can probably be left until later in the year to get a feel on his value and talent after developing in Qcup, but we will probably need to sort out before November 1, and it might end up being a decent upgrade in the end. Can see this contract being a risk and hardest to sort out... manager will want money and length to keep him here with Cobbo and Staggs possibly above him, but also knowing we will want to lock him down after Herbie's departure. That all represents a risk to us as we have to commit before really knowing what we're getting and without really having a position for him with Staggs and Cobbo already there. Would be happy to see a 2yr extension at this stage, but can see his manager pushing for longer.
- Corey Oates (PO) - Sorting out his PO before origin would be handy just to have some certainty on the backline for next year.
- Jordan Riki - Medium to high priority. Basically the only viable second rower we have on the books at the moment, who provides consistency and longevity
- Kurt Capewell - Medium priority given the dearth of second rowers we have, but he's ageing so can be left till end of year to see how he's feeling physically and how many years he thinks he can keep going around.
- Adam Reynolds - Lower priority. Extension would likely be 12 months if anything and he'll get a better feel on how much longer he wants to go on by the end of the year / early next year
- Jock Madden - Lower priority. Only just joined the clubs and need to see how he copes in Qcup to get a gauge on his future with the club... also may be dependent on Reyno's future
- Brendan Piakura - Lower priority… but possibly looking at a haircut if his potential isn't starting to be realised in qcup this year… would think he's left until later in the year pending Qcup form. Becomes somewhat important because we literally have no second rowers, unless there's some gun coming through.
- Billy Walters - Lower priority if he's re-signed at all
- Delouise Hoeter - Lower priority, given he's depth and won't break the bank
