Departing Gold Coast Titans dummy-half Sam Verrills is set to remain in the NRL for 2027, returning to his first club, the Sydney Roosters.
Verrills departed the Titans at the end of 2026 after falling down the pecking order at Robina during the season.
Starting the season as the undisputed first-choice hooker for new coach Josh Hannay, the rake finished it behind Luke Sommerton and Oliver Pascoe, who will now share responsibilities moving forward.
It was understood Verrills would head to England to continue his career after his departure from the Titans became somewhat messy, with his partner placing a controversial post on social media suggesting there were other issues on the glitter strip.
But instead of England, where it was believed St Helens were interested in his services, Verrills is set to return to the Sydney Roosters on a cut-price deal for 2027, per News Corp.
While the move is not yet done, it’s believed the Roosters are interested in his experience given Verrills was the starting dummy half back in 2019 when Jake Friend missed the club’s 2019 grand final.
Verrills has gone on to play 117 NRL games, with the last 69 of those on the Gold Coast since his move to the outfit in 2023.
There is no suggestion Verrills would be able to challenge for a starting spot in the NRL given Reece Robson is the incumbent at the Roosters and contracted for the next three years following his move back to Sydney from the North Queensland Cowboys at the end of 2025, but a spot on the bench could be available.
As it stands, the Roosters are losing Connor Watson at the end of this year and have only Benaiah Ioelu as the other option at number nine, with Jake Elliott moving to the North Queensland Cowboys, as exclusively revealed by Zero Tackle last week.
Verrills could be a permanent member of Trent Robinson’s six-man bench and a potential starter during the State of Origin period if Robson is again selected ahead of Blayke Brailey and Wayde Egan.