{"id":233483,"date":"2025-10-22T21:59:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T21:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/233483\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T21:59:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T21:59:06","slug":"why-eels-were-right-to-sign-jonah-pezet-opinion-and-analysis-lachlan-galvin-move-exposed-jarome-luai-and-isaiya-katoa-origin-battle-paul-crawley-pacific-championships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/233483\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Eels were right to sign Jonah Pezet, opinion and analysis, Lachlan Galvin move exposed, Jarome Luai and Isaiya Katoa Origin battle, Paul Crawley, Pacific Championships"},"content":{"rendered":"

After spending so much of this past NRL season debating the ugly fallout from Lachlan Galvin\u2019s messy exit from Wests Tigers to join the Bulldogs, how refreshing is it to see that the off-season\u2019s first major market move involves another young playmaker who this time went about the business of contract negotiations the right way.<\/a><\/p>\n

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And while he still managed to get the best deal for himself, Jonah Pezet actually maintained his integrity in the process.<\/p>\n

Pezet and his agent Braith Anasta should be congratulated, not criticised, for the way they have secured a ground-breaking deal that will see the talented 22-year-old now play at three different clubs in as many years.<\/p>\n

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Some people may think I\u2019m giving Braith unjustified praise here because I work with him on NRL 360 each week.<\/p>\n

I can assure you this has nothing to do with any personal bias, and I did not speak to Anasta about it.<\/p>\n

But what I admire most is that at no stage did it require Pezet breaking an existing contract, or any of rival parties involved in these negotiations employing dirty or devious tactics to get one over the opposition.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s in stark contrast to the Galvin debacle when he had 18 months to run on his Tigers deal _ but successfully agitated for a release amid some seriously questionable motives and manoeuvres that left more than Galvin\u2019s reputation as collateral damage.<\/p>\n

The difference is Pezet is a free agent, having previously negotiated an exit clause in his contract on the proviso the Storm locked up Jahrome Hughes to an extension.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s expected Pezet will join Parramatta next season on a one-year deal before linking with the Broncos in 2027, where Pezet will take over as Adam Reynolds\u2019 long-term halfback replacement.<\/p>\n

While it is understandable that some Parra fans are questioning what the Eels will get out of this, Jason Ryles has also done what he thinks is best for his club \u2014 for now and the future.<\/p>\n

It not only gives the Eels an insurance policy in case Mitchell Moses gets injured again next year, but if both are fit Parramatta automatically has a halves combination capable of taking them deep into next year\u2019s play offs.<\/p>\n

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Jonah Pezet is set to sign with the Eels… and the BroncosSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n

I truly think the Eels will be one of the competition\u2019s big improvers next year not only on the back of Pezet\u2019s signing, but especially following the way they finished this year in such positive form.<\/p>\n

It also gives a player like Joash Papali\u2019i further time to develop in the halves, or another option at fullback if something goes wrong with the gifted Isaiah Iongi.<\/p>\n

While other young playmakers already in the Eels system \u2014 including the outstanding SG Ball halves Lorenzo Talataina and Lincoln Fletcher \u2014 will move forward knowing an opportunity could be on the horizon if they aim up.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Broncos\u2019 have secured their future beyond Reynolds, and the perfect halves partner for Ezra Mam.<\/p>\n

Walsh to start Ashes for Australia | 00:43<\/p>\n

Pezet showed with his brilliant performance in the Storm\u2019s finals victory over the Bulldogs what a tremendous talent he already is.<\/p>\n

You can only imagine how much better he will be with another season playing regular NRL alongside Moses.<\/p>\n

Pezet should also be applauded for the patience he showed in recent seasons as he bided his time behind Hughes and Cameron Munster in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

But Pezet obviously concluded that he really had no choice but to find an alternative route to become a week-to-week starting player.<\/p>\n

The Storm also deserve credit for the way they have allowed Pezet to develop in their system, while still allowing him the opportunity to further his career elsewhere given their circumstance moving forward.<\/p>\n

On every level it illustrates how deals still can get done while maintaining the respect to work within the current contract guidelines that all players, clubs and agents are expected to honour.<\/p>\n

Tabaui-Fidow makes Samoa switch | 01:01<\/p>\n

YOUNG GUN SET TO PUT FINAL NAIL IN LUAI\u2019S ORIGIN COFFIN<\/p>\n

There\u2019s been a stack of talk about the heavyweight showdown between Payne Haas and Stefano Utoikamanu ahead of what should be a blockbuster Samoa v Tonga Test at Suncorp on Sunday.<\/p>\n

In the wake of big Stefano\u2019s pre-grand final sledge about the \u201cstuck up\u201d Broncos, Haas won\u2019t need any more motivation to again fire up to try and keep Samoa\u2019s hopes alive in the Pacific Championship.<\/p>\n

But the individual match-up I\u2019m most looking forward to is the halfback battle between Jarome Luai and Isaiya Katoa.<\/p>\n

While Luai went okay in last week\u2019s loss to New Zealand, it\u2019s fair to say he probably fell short of what was needed\/expected from him in the chief playmaking role.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d maintain Luai is still a genuine five-eighth, not a halfback.<\/p>\n

But regardless, he\u2019ll need to go to the next level coming up against the Dolphins young gun who is destined to become the game\u2019s next legitimate superstar No 7, if Katoa is not there already.<\/p>\n

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With Nathan Cleary and Mitchell Moses ahead of Katoa in the NSW State of Origin pecking order, this is a huge opportunity for the 21-year-old to put his case forward.<\/p>\n

While Katoa is not new to the Test arena, the skill, maturity and all-round composure he displayed this season suggests at some point in the not too distant future he will become a legitimate threat to both Cleary and Moses in the conversation about who should wear the NSW No 7.<\/p>\n

At this point Cleary is the obvious standout, although Moses is also playing the best footy of his career.<\/p>\n

If both are fit next year they should be the automatic Blues halves without question.<\/p>\n

That said, given Katoa was invited into the NSW extended squad for the Origin decider, you just never know what opportunities may be around the corner if Katoa can dominate this series for Tonga.<\/p>\n

Reece Walsh and Kevin Walters have been reunited.Source: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n

REECE AND KEVVIE REUINTE AT WEMBLEY<\/p>\n

It will be worth getting up in the middle of the night to watch Reece Walsh make his Kangaroos debut against England in front of a crowd tipped to push 60,000 at Wembley on Sunday morning (AEST).<\/p>\n

On the back of Walsh\u2019s grand final heroics, you would expect the Broncos superstar will absolutely terrorise the Poms.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m also keen to see what style of footy the Kangaroos play under Kevvie Walters in his first official Test as Australia\u2019s new coach.<\/p>\n

As a player and as a coach, Kevvie was never one to be blinkered by the cookie cutter style that often dominates in the NRL.<\/p>\n

While sometimes it was to his detriment, at Test level it could really lead to an outstanding spectacle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After spending so much of this past NRL season debating the ugly fallout from Lachlan Galvin\u2019s messy exit…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":233484,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[18743,140188,64,63,689,140186,4567,140180,50270,140181,31212,140182,1208,2057,140190,140185,71359,140184,763,2105,140189,140194,84257,85456,4575,4582,4556,27285,3194,4617,140187,140193,647,4466,22326,1736,3583,677,140191,11396,13390,99980,140192,140197,140195,13391,130928,85,140198,660,140196,4515,9020,140183,105587],"class_list":["post-233483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-adam-reynolds","tag-alternative-route","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-brilliant-performance","tag-cameron-munster","tag-chief-playmaking-role","tag-collateral-damage","tag-contract-guidelines","tag-contract-negotiations","tag-cookie-cutter-style","tag-england","tag-europe","tag-exit-clause","tag-final-nail","tag-finals-victory","tag-forgotten-masterstroke","tag-fox-league","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-grand-final-heroics","tag-halfback-battle","tag-halves-combination","tag-insurance-policy","tag-jahrome-hughes","tag-jarome-luai","tag-jason-ryles","tag-jonah-pezet","tag-kevin-walters","tag-lachlan-galvin","tag-long-term-halfback-replacement","tag-market-move","tag-melbourne","tag-melbourne-storm","tag-mitchell-moses","tag-new-zealand","tag-northern-europe","tag-oceania","tag-origin-coffin","tag-paul-crawley","tag-payne-haas","tag-pecking-order","tag-phd-prop","tag-pre-grand-final","tag-property-mogul","tag-reece-walsh","tag-rugby-league-ashes-live","tag-sports","tag-storm-young-gun","tag-victoria","tag-week-to-week-starting-player","tag-wests-tigers","tag-young-gun","tag-young-gun-set","tag-young-playmakers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}