England centre Herbie Farnworth might be contracted with the Dolphins until the end of the 2027 season but that’s not stopped reports of a major cross-NRL switch.
Farnworth only signed a new deal last season with the Englishman extending to the end of 2027 in a move that confirmed he would not be signing with Perth Bears for their inaugural season.
Despite being under contract until the end of next year, rival clubs can begin talking to Farnworth from November 1st at which point he has less than one year on his deal and is therefore deemed a free agent.
We’re over six months out from that date but that’s not stopped the rumours swirling with Farnworth linked to a move to NRL giants Sydney Roosters, with one Australian journalist revealing he’d heard talks of such a move.
James Hooper, on FanaticsTV’s Rugby League Insider, revealed: “I was talking to a couple of people earlier this week and they said to me, ‘Mate just keep an eye on Herbie Farnworth. There’s a little bit of mail kicking around that the Roosters are just monitoring the situation with Herbie’.”
Herbie Farnworth sees NRL reports swirl about his future
Farnworth, who is believed to be paid around $1,000,000 per year at the Dolphins, is among the premier centres in the NRL and Hooper explained that the ‘theory’ goes the Roosters will potentially open talks with the England star from November.
“If he isn’t signed by them, then he can go to the open market,” Hooper said regarding the November 1st deadline.
“The theory is that the Roosters are very much having a look at Herbie because he’s an English international and he has electric speed, strong defence, (they) love his footwork and a (he’s) tryscorer.
“They’ve signed DCE in the last 12 months. They’ve signed Reece Robson in the last 12 months.
“They’ve had James Tedesco as the captain of the club for a number of seasons now and that’s all part of the Herbie Farnworth management stable.”
These reports come just a week after Farnworth fielded questions about his contract status and whether he would be signing a new deal that would obviously push back his free agent status with the PNG Chiefs, who enter the NRL in 2028, an obvious threat to the Dolphins.
“I’m sure that (contract talks) will come naturally through Woolfie (Kristian Woolf, head coach) and people, so we’ll see what happens. I’m definitely happy at the club so we’ll just see where I end up,” Farnworth told 9News Queensland.
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