Targeted by the St George Illawarra Dragons in recent months, Fuller\u2019s new deal comes after he opted to turn down a $1.2 million offer to join the Wakefield Trinity in the Super League.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
It is understood that Wakefield had tabled him a three-year deal worth around $567,000 a season, but the 29-year-old decided to reject it to remain in Australia.<\/p>\n
Scoring four tries for the Prime Minister\u2019s XIII at the end of last year, he has made 19 appearances for the club since joining them for their inaugural NRL campaign in 2023 on a train-and-trial contract.<\/p>\n
The new deal also opens the door for a potential move to the Perth Bears or PNG Chiefs in the coming years who will enter the competition in the 2027 and 2028 NRL seasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no doubting that Trai is a real \u2018fan favourite\u2019 for the Dolphins,\u201d Dolphins CEO Terry Reader said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo have a player of his skill to call on underlines the great depth we have at the club \u2013 his value to us this week against the Roosters is a perfect case in point.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very pleased Trai has committed to another season at the club as we see him as a valuable piece of our roster.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trai Fuller.Source: Supplied<\/p>\n
KENNEDY OPENS UP ON NEW DEAL AND FUTURE<\/p>\n
Sharks fullback Will Kennedy is glad he\u2019s sorted his future out for 2027, but he accepts that the same contract circus beyond that will continue next year when he gets hammered with the same questions he\u2019s copped for the past two seasons.<\/p>\n
Kennedy inked a one-year extension to remain at Cronulla having also signed a one-year deal last October for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s led to constant questions about his long-term future, but Kennedy is used to it by now and welcomes whatever comes next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good to get it all done and sorted and then just focus on my footy. I can\u2019t thank the club enough for giving me another year,\u201d he told the NewsWire. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was used to it (the contract questions) and then had it last year as well, so I think I was getting a bit used to it. It didn\u2019t bother me at all. It\u2019s just good to have it done and then just keep going with footy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Will Kennedy has signed a new deal to remain at the Sharks in 2027.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
The short-term extension will lead to speculation that he could end up at the PNG Chiefs when they enter the competition in 2028, with Kennedy conceding that he will have to consider his family if a longer contract is offered elsewhere. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think everyone would want more than one year, especially just having that security for my young family as well,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was just the best option for my family. I want to do what\u2019s right off the field as well and then repay it in footy as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love this club. They took me in when I was a young player and I can\u2019t repay them enough. I\u2019ll always love this club. <\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, you\u2019ve got to do what\u2019s best for your family. I think that one year here again was best for my family and then for me as well because I wanted to be with the boys that I love and care about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kennedy has been a mainstay in the Shire since he made his debut in 2019, with the fullback producing a season-high 215 running metres to go with a try and two assists in Sunday\u2019s comeback win over the Dragons. <\/p>\n
He celebrated his try with a spectacular dive into the in-goal, with Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon praising the 29-year-old\u2019s constant improvement.<\/p>\n
Walsh bites back at form questions | 00:34<\/p>\n
There have been questions over whether the club can win a title with Kennedy at the back, but his coach is adamant that he is one of the most valued members at a club that will farewell veterans Cam McInnes, Sione Katoa and Jesse Ramien at the end of the year. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s probably more noise around Will staying or not staying (every year), but that guy just gets better every year,\u201d Fitzgibbon said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve thankfully managed to keep Will because he gets better and better. Will is the sort of guy who epitomises our club and team.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t been able to keep a lot of the guys that we love and cherish, and it\u2019s been harder than it seems. We love and respect the players that are moving on, but we\u2019re also thankful for a player like Will that we\u2019ve managed to keep.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not lost on us week to week on how important everyone in our club is, and then Will epitomises what we\u2019re about.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014 Martin Gabor (NCA NewsWire)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dolphins have officially confirmed that fan favourite Trai Fuller will remain at the club for at least…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":725916,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-725915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725915","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=725915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/725916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=725915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=725915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=725915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}