{"id":389615,"date":"2024-05-01T02:34:29","date_gmt":"2024-05-01T02:34:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=389615"},"modified":"2024-05-01T06:05:55","modified_gmt":"2024-05-01T06:05:55","slug":"lockyer-floats-theory-for-rising-stars-savage-exit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=389615","title":{"rendered":"Lockyer floats theory for rising star's 'savage' exit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Queensland legend \ufeffWally Lewis<\/a> has weighed in on the Cowboys<\/a> loss of Kulikefu Finefeuiaki after the powerhouse backrower signed with the Dolphins<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Finefeuiaki inked a three-year deal with the Cowboys' Queensland rivals last week, tying him to the club until the 2027 season.<\/p>\n

"I'm very surprised," Lewis said in response to Finefeuiaki's signing on Wide World of Sports' QLDER<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

EXCLUSIVE:<\/strong> Liz Ellis opens up on surprise Netball Australia backflip\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Demetriou sacked as Bunnies axe battling coach<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\ufeffREAD MORE:<\/strong> 'Disappointed' Swans hit back after damning vision<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

"I thought they were there just to let the other offers come in and then come in with the one that would retain his services but that's not going to be.<\/p>\n

"So I think it is a very difficult one. I think there will be some very disappointed players and fans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"That's going to be a savage loss."<\/p>\n

The 20-year-old's singing looks to be the beginning of the Dolphins regeneration of their experienced lineup.<\/p>\n

The Dolphins currently have six players over the age of 30, including forwards \ufeffJesse Bromwich<\/a>, Kenny Bromwich, Felise Kaufusi<\/a>, and Mark Nicholls.<\/p>\n

\"North<\/p>\n

The Cowboys recently upgraded the contracts of four of their young players, with the club left to choose to prioritise either Finefeuiaki or 23-year-old second-rower Heilum Luki, with Luki the player who was re-signed.<\/p>\n

Maroons great Darren Lockyer said Luki's three-year deal was at the expense of Finefeuiaki, noting he believes the club must be heavily restricted by their salary cap.<\/p>\n

"It says to me that there must be some [salary] cap pressures when you have to let go of someone of that calibre," Lockyer said.<\/p>\n

"You can't pay three backrowers good money… It's just not feasible.<\/p>\n

Watch the 2024 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

"[Finefeuiaki] is a good promising player and he is a big edge back-rower," Lockyer said.<\/p>\n

"I think it was a coup for the Dolphins to get him but for the Cowboys they must've been comfortable that they had him covered or he was the one that got away.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"Maybe they didn't have enough cash in the salary cap to keep him, I don't know.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"They are losing talent there, the Cowboys, but obviously for the Dolphins it's a real positive.<\/p>\n

"For the Cowboys, I hope they don't lose too many more."\ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Queensland legend \ufeffWally Lewis has weighed in on the Cowboys loss of Kulikefu Finefeuiaki after the powerhouse backrower signed with the Dolphins. Finefeuiaki inked a […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":389617,"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\/389615"}],"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=389615"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":389618,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389615\/revisions\/389618"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/389617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=389615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=389615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=389615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}