Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/p>\nDo NSW need a change at number 9? | 02:48<\/p>\n
However, The Daily Telegraph\u2019s Michael Carayannis warned the Tigers to take up the option for 2027 now or risk losing Bula to the Bulldogs. <\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s not forget, that option\u2019s only for 12 months at the West Tigers,\u201d Carayannis said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think the West Tigers would be mad not to take that option up. I would just take the option up now and be done with it and then work out what you do long-term because the only other fullback on the market is Scott Drinkwater. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd no offence to Scott Drinkwater I\u2019m backing Jahream for the upside to keep him there. The way he is playing, the way the Tigers are playing, how settled the West Tigers squad looks at the moment. I\u2019d just be taking it up and doing it.\u201d <\/p>\n
Read revealed in a bid to do their due diligence, the Tigers have made contact with Cowboys fullback Drinkwater as a contingency if they lose Bula. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Tigers have inquired about Drinkwater,\u201d Read said. <\/p>\n
Is Drinkwater worth big Dragons offer? | 02:13<\/p>\n
\u201cThey want to make sure they\u2019ve got all their options on the table and they know the situation, they know the landscape before they decide what direction they go. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut my understanding is they\u2019re going to wait, they\u2019re going to drag the Jahream Bula thing out until the club option date is up. I still expect them to take that up. But they just want to be able to present to Benji all the options.\u201d <\/p>\n
Carayannis interjected: \u201cWhy would you drag it out?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause they want to make sure they\u2019re abreast of everything that happens in the marketplace before that date,\u201d Read replied. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd they\u2019re trying to get a long-term deal done with him as well in the background. They\u2019re trying to get that done, so they\u2019re going to keep working on that until the club option date is up. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut at the same time, they want to know what\u2019s out there in case this all doesn\u2019t go the way they want it to.\u201d <\/p>\n
Has Flanagan lost the playing group? | 00:38<\/p>\n
However, Carayannis fears the Tigers risk upsetting their momentum as a team by dragging out the Bula contract option decision. <\/p>\n
\u201cI just don\u2019t want it to be a distraction for the Tigers, with how they\u2019re going so well at the moment with him at fullback,\u201d Carayannis said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis time next year, there\u2019s no certainty they\u2019re going to be in second spot on the ladder, so whilst they\u2019re going so well, I would try and end all the distractions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could be a distraction if he ends up leaving. It does have the potential to be.\u201d <\/p>\n
However, Read feels the Tigers still have the power to use that option if and when they need to. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf it gets to the club option day, and they haven\u2019t done a long-term extension with him, they\u2019ll take the option up,\u201d Read said. <\/p>\n
Anasta warned the Tigers fans would be up in arms if the club loses him to the Bulldogs given his and the team\u2019s current form. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019ll be riots from Leichhardt to Campbelltown if they don\u2019t re-sign him,\u201d Anasta said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re loving him, the fans, and so they should.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There are fears history could repeat with Phil Gould eyeing Jahream Bula for the Bulldogs the longer his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":608406,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,25167,295868,74183,295870,20779,9416,11249,190139,33215,4746,761,762,158,295869,10185,295867,294968,1085,4583,85,294969,295866,4515],"class_list":{"0":"post-608405","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-club-option","11":"tag-club-option-day","12":"tag-connor-tracey","13":"tag-contract-option-decision","14":"tag-contract-situation","15":"tag-isaac-moses","16":"tag-long-term-deal","17":"tag-long-term-extension","18":"tag-lord-gould-of-brookwood","19":"tag-mark-st-john","20":"tag-national-rugby-league","21":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","22":"tag-nrl","23":"tag-option-saga","24":"tag-playing-group","25":"tag-risk-losing","26":"tag-roster-admission","27":"tag-scott-drinkwater","28":"tag-shane-flanagan","29":"tag-sports","30":"tag-star-inks-extension","31":"tag-tigers-contract-saga","32":"tag-wests-tigers"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608405","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=608405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608405\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/608406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=608405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=608405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=608405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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