{"id":135670,"date":"2021-09-27T22:01:28","date_gmt":"2021-09-27T22:01:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=135670"},"modified":"2021-09-28T00:57:00","modified_gmt":"2021-09-28T00:57:00","slug":"penrith-x-factor-facing-million-dollar-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=135670","title":{"rendered":"Penrith X-factor facing million dollar decision"},"content":{"rendered":"

A dozen clubs are expected to chase Penrith<\/a> juggernaut Viliame Kikau<\/a> after Sunday's grand final – but he is set to reject them all.<\/p>\n

In a shock decision leading into the biggest game of the year, Kikau has told mates he could never play against his beloved Panthers.<\/p>\n

That leaves Kikau with two choices – signing a new deal at Penrith or a switch to rugby union.<\/p>\n

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The 15-a-side game is keen to sign the wide-running forward and could offer him the million dollar deal he craves.<\/p>\n

Penrith will do it tough to match that sort of money, but Kikau and his family are well settled in the area and he may take unders to stay.<\/p>\n

Kikau is off contract at the end of next season, meaning rival clubs can talk to him from November 1.<\/p>\n

However rugby union franchises don't have to obey that rule and can approach the big unit anytime.<\/p>\n

Kikau is the x-factor in Penrith's premiership challenge – if he fires on Sunday night then the Panthers will have one hand on the trophy.<\/p>\n

Fogarty future still not finalised<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Titans have said 'no deal' to Canberra in their request to sign halfback Jamal Fogarty – but don't be surprised if there is a twist to the tale.<\/p>\n

The Raiders are absolutely desperate to sign a quality halfback following the loss of Englishman George Williams mid-season – and their subsequent fall from grace.<\/p>\n

\"Jamal<\/p>\n

I'm hearing the Raiders are set to have another crack at Fogarty and a meeting between the two clubs and the talented halfback's management has been pencilled in for later this week.<\/p>\n

The Titans have a ready-made replacement for Fogarty in young Toby Sexton, who looked very sharp when given his chance at NRL level late in the season.<\/p>\n

Surprise competition for Taaffe<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Impressive rookie Blake Taaffe<\/a> is the front-runner to replace Adam Reynolds in the number seven jumper at Souths – but he could face some unexpected opposition for the spot long term.<\/p>\n

Rabbitohs officials are raving to me about an 18-year-old utility back who is on course to join the Bunnies' fulltime squad in coming years.<\/p>\n

\"Blake<\/p>\n

Leon Te Hau was signed through the Rabbitohs' South-East Queensland Elite Player Development Satellite program and is held in such high esteem by the club that he is under lock and key until the end of 2024.<\/p>\n

A Queensland under 18s fullback, he has the skill to play anywhere in the backline and will be just one of an exciting batch of rookie Rabbitohs to watch next season.<\/p>\n

Evans on the move again<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Kane Evans' days in the NRL appear to be numbered with the Warriors prepared to throw money into the pot to get him a contract in the UK.<\/p>\n

The former Roosters and Eels prop joined the Kiwi club on big money this season but failed to fire and the Warriors now want to cut their losses.<\/p>\n

\"Kane<\/p>\n

Evans has been a disappointment on and off the field and no rival NRL clubs are showing any interest.<\/p>\n

Big and strong, the Fijian international could still be a force in Super League and several British clubs are on the lookout for a go-forward middle man.<\/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":"

A dozen clubs are expected to chase Penrith juggernaut Viliame Kikau after Sunday's grand final – but he is set to reject them all. In […]<\/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\/135670"}],"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=135670"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135670\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":135674,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135670\/revisions\/135674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=135670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=135670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=135670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}