Halfbacks at Leeds Rhinos, Wigan Warriors, Leigh Leopards, Hull FC and Salford Red Devils all face interesting futures.
Leeds duo Blake Austin and Aidan Sezer are both out of contract at the end of 2023 and neither man has had their future officially confirmed despite a variety of rumours.
Wigan are in the market for a new halfback with Cade Cust out of contact and transitioning to hooker.
It has already been confirmed that Hull FC star Jake Clifford is headed to the NRL with North Queensland Cowboys whilst Salford Red Devils and Leigh Leopards are hoping to fend off interest in Brodie Croft and Lachlan Lam.
Croft was unplayable late into the 2022 Super League season.
He guided the Red Devils to the play-offs from an unlikely position tearing teams apart with his running game.
The stand-off won the Man of Steel as consequence and took Salford all the way to the semi-finals.
However a head injury ruled him out of the clash against St Helens and he could have been the difference in what was a disappointing day for the club.
The club were proactive about his future signing him to a huge eight year deal but that hasn’t stopped NRL club Wests Tigers from having an interest in the star stand-off with the Daily Telegraph reporting that he is now a potential target for the club.
According to reports from the Daily Telegraph last week, the NRL club could be ready to trigger what they refer to as “get out clauses” in Croft’s mammoth eight year deal which expires in 2030.
The Tigers are looking for a new halfback with former Leeds target Luke Brooks headed to Manly Sea Eagles in 2024.
However, it has now been suggested that Croft could be considered too expensive and long term for the Tigers who seem set to move for Leeds’ Aidan Sezer instead.
Speaking on Triple M’s ‘The Saturday Scrum’, The Daily Telegraph’s Brent Read said the “biggest challenge” for the Tigers is getting everyone to agree when it comes to recruitment.
“This is an interesting one because obviously the Tigers have tried every man and his dog in terms of halves,” Read said.
“Shaun Johnson, Mitchell Moses, Cameron Munster, Jack Wighton… they’ve obviously now turned to England because Aidan Sezer and Brodie Croft are the two names being thrown around at the moment. Aidan Sezer is a guy as I understand it that Benji Marshall is quite interested in bringing him back, Brodie Croft as well.
“The benefit of Aidan Sezer I would think is that he would only be a short-term deal while Brodie Croft is looking for a really a long-term deal and apparently the money that is being mentioned in relation to Brodie Croft is quite significant.
“So if they make a play for Brodie Croft they’d have to sign him to a long-term deal, pay a transfer fee and are sort of locked in if things don’t work out. While Aidan Sezer would be a short-term option.”
Sydney Morning Herald have now reported that Wests have the green light to sign Sezer so it seems Croft won’t be headed to Wests.
