{"id":951845,"date":"2026-11-04T03:52:15","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T03:52:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/951845\/"},"modified":"2026-11-04T03:52:15","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T03:52:15","slug":"nrl-news-2026-the-mole-exclusive-harry-grant-contract-manly-sea-eagles-melbourne-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/951845\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL news 2026: The Mole exclusive; Harry Grant contract; Manly Sea Eagles, Melbourne Storm"},"content":{"rendered":"

Manly<\/a> are considering making a massive play for the world\u2019s best hooker, Harry Grant<\/a>, for 2028.<\/p>\n

Grant is one of a host of players able to talk terms with rival clubs now November 1 has passed and will be in massive demand from at least half a dozen clubs.<\/p>\n

\"Harry<\/p>\n

Harry Grant and Cameron Munster.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Test hooker had an option his way for 2028 but has chosen not to take it up in a move that is set to trigger bidding war for his services.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m hearing Manly, who have struggled in the key hooking position in recent years, will lead the race for the crafty No.9.<\/p>\n

After a couple of under-performing years, the Sea Eagles are having a cleanout of their roster and will have plenty of money in the cap to make a real play for Grant, a marquee player capable of turning a club around.<\/p>\n

Plenty of players are reluctant to leave Melbourne<\/a> but Grant has already done so, having had a loan year at Wests Tigers in 2020.<\/p>\n

Sources close to Grant have told nine.com.au he spent a lot of that time on the northern beaches – the heart of Manly territory – and enjoyed his experience there.<\/p>\n

Promising rookie\u2019s injury troubles over<\/p>\n

A big boost for the Bulldogs with boom halfback Mitch Woods finally over the hamstring injury that prevented him from playing a single game last season.<\/p>\n

The Bulldogs were so concerned about Woods\u2019 injury they sent him to several overseas clinics in search for a cure earlier this year.<\/p>\n

The youngster, who many believe will end up alongside Lachlan Galvin in the halves in the long term, has looked sharp at the start of pre-season training this week and officials can\u2019t wait to see him in action in the trials next February.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a very special talent and it\u2019s been a frustrating time for him,\u201d my Bulldogs insider told me this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tigers poach schoolboy star after messy exit<\/p>\n

Talented utility back David Bryenton, who made headlines by walking out on Canterbury earlier this year, has signed with Wests Tigers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bryenton, who won the Peter Sterling Medal as the country’s best schoolboy player in 2025, joined the Bulldogs last season but quit after a dispute over the terms of his contract.<\/p>\n

The young fullback from renowned Gold Coast nursery Keebra Park State High School has been in hot demand ever since and his move to the Tigers is a big coup for the club.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He is expected to start next season in the NSW Cup but don\u2019t be surprised if he is in the top grade team at either centre or wing by mid-season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bennett adds to Bunnies depth\"\"<\/p>\n

Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Rabbitohs have signed a classy Kiwi forward from Newcastle\u2019s NSW Cup team for next season and his name is quite a mouthful – Tamakaimoana Whareaorere.<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old, who is versatile enough to play prop, second row or lock, represented the Maoris at junior level before making the move across the ditch to the Knights.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whareaorere played 12 games for the Knights in NSW Cup last season, scoring two tries and making numerous line breaks.<\/p>\n

His skills impressed Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett and head of pathways David Furner and he will be one to watch in the trials early next season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manly are considering making a massive play for the world\u2019s best hooker, Harry Grant, for 2028. Grant is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":951846,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[64,63,85],"class_list":["post-951845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951845","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=951845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/951846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=951845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=951845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=951845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}