NRL club set to launch huge pursuit of England World Cup star

Herbie Farnworth has been making plenty of headlines in the last few days.

Farnworth scored two sensational tries for England against Samoa which nearly saved the host nation’s blushes in the Rugby League World Cup semi-final only for a Stephen Crichton drop goal to break English hearts.

That underlined his quality which has been there for all to see during in the 2022 NRL season.

This has busted his value to around $800,000 as he heads into the last year of his contract at Brisbane Broncos which means he can negotiate with other clubs.

The Sydney Roosters have been rumoured to be interested in the centre but he has a desire to play fullback which is unlikely at the Roosters.

Canterbury Bulldogs need a fullback and Farnworth’s England teammate and former St Helens star Luke Thompson has pushed for the club to sign him and they have a choice between the Englishman and the aforementioned Crichton, another centre who wants to play fullback.

Another club looking for a fullback is the newest NRL club The Dolphins under former England boss Wayne Bennett and ex-St Helens Kristian Woolf.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the Dolphins are set to launch a huge pursuit of Farnworth.

This comes as the Broncos admit they’ll struggle to keep him: “I don’t know if we can keep Herbie,” said Broncos recruitment boss Simon Scanlan.

“We’d love to keep him but what other clubs are prepared to pay him, I can’t answer that.

“It will come down to how much salary-cap space other clubs have and we have and whether we can retain our players.

“Herbie would be attractive for a lot of clubs. We want him to stay here, but ultimately you don’t know what other clubs are prepared to spend and what motivates individual players.”