The Storm have confirmed their interest in a reunion with superstar prop Tino Fa’asuamaleaui.
Despite signing a deal until the end of 2029 with the Gold Coast, Fa’asuamaleaui has expressed he will test the open market from November 1 due to a get-out clause in his contract which allows him to leave the club at the end of next season.
It doesn’t necessarily mean Fa’asuamaleaui will depart the Titans, but it should worry club brass as the Perth Bears and their $12 million budget as well as other cashed up clubs circle the star forward.
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Another factor at play is that Fa’asuamaleaui’s good friend David Fifita has departed the club in recent days, granted an early release to join Souths.
The Storm were rumoured to be one club interested in Fa’asuamaleaui. Their CEO removed the speculation by confirming they will “explore” the possibility of adding the prop.
“I think every club would love to have Tino on their list and playing in their pack,” Storm CEO Justin Rodski said on SEN radio.
“I reckon Tino might come with a hefty price tag on him but we’d love to have him at our club again but we’ll work through all that. We’ll explore every option.”
“This is a competitive market, the landscape’s only going to get more difficult with expansion teams coming in, obviously Perth Bears can start to sign players from November 1 so it’s going to be a really interesting period.”
Papenhuyzen released from Storm contract | 00:35
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Fa’asuamleaui started his NRL career with the Storm, debuting for the club in 2019 and playing 27 games over two seasons before departing for the Gold Coast in 2021.
While his preference is to remain on the glitter strip, he has publicly stated that he needs to see improvement from the club to justify him staying put.
Another player that has been linked to the Storm is Cowboys rising star Jaxon Purdue.
The 20-year-old burst onto the scene as a teenager in 2024 and then was one of the team’s best players this year in his first full season in the NRL.
With Ryan Papenhuyzen sensationally being granted an early release from his deal, the Storm may be looking at Purdue as a potential fullback replacement.
With that said, the Cowboys are set to pull out all the stops to keep the exciting talent which will drive the price tag up.