{"id":132097,"date":"2021-09-20T21:59:54","date_gmt":"2021-09-20T21:59:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=132097"},"modified":"2021-09-21T00:57:40","modified_gmt":"2021-09-21T00:57:40","slug":"surprising-twist-in-fight-for-panthers-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=132097","title":{"rendered":"Surprising twist in fight for Panthers star"},"content":{"rendered":"

Don't be surprised if the Broncos<\/a> enter the battle to sign Panthers juggernaut Viliame Kikau.<\/a><\/p>\n

Kikau is off contract in 2023 – which means clubs can start negotiating with him on November 1.<\/p>\n

The Cowboys and Dragons have already expressed interest in chatting with the 26-year-old line-breaking forward – and Penrith know they may have to let Kikau go due to salary cap issues.<\/p>\n

The Panthers have a host of good young players they need to upgrade and will struggle to match Kikau's asking price of over $800,000 a season.<\/p>\n

\"Viliame<\/p>\n

Only yesterday, Panthers CEO Brian Fletcher said Kikau was close to signing a new deal<\/a> – but I think that is wishful thinking and the towering second-rower will test the market.<\/p>\n

I'm hearing Brisbane are keen to have a crack at Kikau, believing they can offer him the chance to continue to play finals footy – something that is no guarantee at the Cowboys or Dragons.<\/p>\n

The Broncos have the power and influence – and ability to offer lucrative third-party deals – to make a genuine play for Kikau.<\/p>\n

After several lean years, the Broncos are determined to again become an NRL powerhouse and snaring a player with the strike power of Kikau would be a massive step in that direction.<\/p>\n

Overseas rugby union clubs are also believed to be interested in talking to the big forward.<\/p>\n

Lifeline for Woods<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Word around clubland is that Aaron Woods won't be getting the fairytale finish to his career back at Wests Tigers.<\/p>\n

A local junior who played nearly 150 games for the club before stints at the Bulldogs and Sharks, Woods has been linked with a return to the Tigers for several months.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The 30-year-old former New South Wales and Australian prop isn't getting a new deal at Cronulla and seemed a good fit for the struggling Tigers.<\/p>\n

But club officials have decided against going back to the future in 2022.<\/p>\n

Woods isn't out in the cold, however – Manly are believed to be interested in giving the bearded prop a one year deal.<\/p>\n

Tug of war between Sharks and Raiders<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Cronulla and Canberra are fighting a two-way battle for giant young prop Tom Hazelton.<\/p>\n

A 22-year-old from Goulburn, Hazelton has played the last couple of seasons for the Sharks' feeder club Newtown.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Aussie Olympic champion Madi Wilson hospitalised with COVID-19<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>NRL launches investigation into Penrith trainer's controversial stoppage<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

At 198 cm and 114 kilos, Hazelton is the ideal size for the modern day front-rower and was a standout in the NSW Cup before COVID brought the competition to a halt.<\/p>\n

The prop played a couple of first grade trials for the Sharks at the start of the year and just missed getting graded.<\/p>\n

But now Canberra are showing interest, they may miss out on the big man.<\/p>\n

Rookie divides coach and senior players<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There was an interesting secret meeting last week between a coach and two of his senior players.<\/p>\n

The players asked the coach to bench one of the club's brightest young stars because he had been struggling for form after a great start to the season.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>'Outrageously bad' tackle slammed as rugby star faces 'very very lengthy' ban<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Football world mourns 'greatest' English legend<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The coach didn't listen – and went with the rookie – who again was only average in the game.<\/p>\n

Can anyone guess who he is?<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/em><\/strong> clicking here!<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Don't be surprised if the Broncos enter the battle to sign Panthers juggernaut Viliame Kikau. Kikau is off contract in 2023 – which means clubs […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132097"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=132097"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132097\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132099,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132097\/revisions\/132099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=132097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=132097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=132097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}