{"id":250792,"date":"2025-10-30T11:31:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T11:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/250792\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T11:31:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T11:31:13","slug":"nrl-news-2025-ryan-papenhuyzen-jonah-pezet-exits-melbourne-storm-mass-player-exodus-opens-door-for-big-signings-in-november","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/250792\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL news 2025: Ryan Papenhuyzen, Jonah Pezet exits, Melbourne Storm mass player exodus opens door for big signings in November"},"content":{"rendered":"

Melbourne<\/a> have wasted no time moving on from their heartbreaking grand final defeat, with the powerhouse club all of a sudden in prime position to reboot a roster that made the last two grand finals having suddenly created a $2.4 million war chest.<\/p>\n

Less than a month after going down to the Broncos in the decider, the Storm have now released three contracted players who will give them plenty of buying power in the market just two days before a string of new free agents come onto the market.<\/p>\n

Nelson Asofa-Solomona was the first domino to fall<\/a>, with the club opting not to stand in the prop’s way and allowing him to walk out the door with two years remaining.<\/p>\n

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It’s believed the Kiwis enforcer was set to earn $850,000 per year for the 2026 and 2027 seasons prior to his immediate release earlier this month.<\/p>\n

This week, things have moved at a rapid pace in Melbourne, with young halfback Jonah Pezet<\/a> and premiership-winning fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen<\/a> both confirmed to depart.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Jonah Pezet, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Nelson Asofa-Solomona\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

Papenhuyzen’s estimated seven-figure contract was set to expire at the end of next year, while Pezet, who was on a deal in the $600,000-per-season range, was signed until the end of 2029 but had a clause in his contract that allowed him to leave effective immediately to join the Eels – and then the Broncos.<\/p>\n

While the Storm are still well-placed with their roster – which will likely see Sua Faalogo step into the No.1 jersey and Harry Grant ink an extension soon<\/a> – it does leave Craig Bellamy and Frank Ponissi in a position to strike this November.<\/p>\n

While their spine will remain one of the best in the competition, it’s no secret the Storm lack an out-and-out superstar in the middle of the field and now could be the perfect time for the club to acquire an in-demand star on top-dollar for 2027 and beyond.<\/p>\n

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The most obvious man to fill that void and slot into Melbourne’s forward pack would be Tino Fa’asuamaleaui<\/a>, who started his career with the club as a teenager.<\/p>\n

Since moving to the Titans, the front-rower has enjoyed only fleeting moments of joy and has already publicly confirmed his desire to test the open market.<\/p>\n

Fa’asuamaleaui is regarded as one of the best prop’s in the game and while Melbourne would be able to offer him upwards of $1 million per season, they won’t be alone with the likes of St George Illawarra and Perth Bears expected to offer him enormous coin.<\/p>\n

\"Tino<\/p>\n

Tino Fa’asuamaleaui\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

While he would be the top of the list for any club’s recruitment officer, the 25-year-old isn’t the only big bopper ready to test his worth with rival club.<\/p>\n

Rabbitohs star Keaon Koloamatangi has admitted he will likely go to market<\/a>, fresh off a debut for the Kangaroos last weekend, with potential seven-figure sums coming his way.<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old is entering the prime of his career and given South Sydney’s dicey cap situation, which is abundantly top-heavy, it could see the Mascot Jets junior find a new home and there’s no reason why the Storm wouldn’t be interested in his services.<\/p>\n

Outside of the forward pack, Melbourne could look to bolster their outside backs stocks.<\/p>\n

As it stands, Will Warbrick is unsigned beyond next year, while fellow winger Xavier Coates is off-contract for 2028 and beyond, which could see him firmly in the sights of the new Papua New Guinea franchise once they enter the competition.<\/p>\n

In the centres, Nick Meaney has a year to run on his current deal, while Jack Howarth has another two seasons at the Storm and is unlikely to go anywhere.<\/p>\n

If the club were to look for a winger or centre, the likes of Jaxon Purdue or Murray Taulagi from the Cowboys jump off the page, as does Manly speedster Tolutau Koula.<\/p>\n

\"Tolutau<\/p>\n

Tolutau Koula\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

Even a player like Tyrell Sloan, who can play wing or fullback, could benefit from a fresh start and would be the type of player Bellamy turns into a genuine superstar.<\/p>\n

In their 27-year history, this might be the best position Melbourne have ever been to show aggression on the player market and go on a bit of a signing spree.<\/p>\n

While the looming extension of Grant will no doubt chew up a fair bit of space on their books, the Storm should be able to make some moves and be a major player.<\/p>\n

Ponissi and Bellamy leading the charge and trying to recruit big-name stars to the club could be a scary thought for the rest of the competition in the coming weeks. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Melbourne have wasted no time moving on from their heartbreaking grand final defeat, with the powerhouse club all…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":250793,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-250792","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-national-rugby-league","11":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","12":"tag-nrl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250792","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=250792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}