{"id":297846,"date":"2023-12-12T18:00:09","date_gmt":"2023-12-12T18:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=297846"},"modified":"2023-12-12T18:00:09","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T18:00:09","slug":"new-club-joins-the-hunt-for-addin-fonua-blake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-league\/new-club-joins-the-hunt-for-addin-fonua-blake\/","title":{"rendered":"New club joins the hunt for Addin Fonua-Blake"},"content":{"rendered":"

Save articles for later<\/h3>\n

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.<\/p>\n

The Sharks are considering making a play for superstar prop Addin Fonua-Blake as they search for their most significant signing since Nicho Hynes.<\/p>\n

The Herald<\/em> can reveal Cronulla officials have discussed luring the Tongan international for 2025, potentially joining the Tigers, Dragons and Bulldogs in the race for one of the NRL\u2019s hottest free agents.<\/p>\n

The Warriors are willing to release Fonua-Blake at the end of next season on compassionate grounds, but have stipulated he must join a Sydney club to be closer to his parents.<\/p>\n

While the NRL\u2019s bottom three clubs this season have all waded into the Fonua-Blake sweepstakes, the Sharks are now circling, too \u2013 although they are yet to table a formal offer.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Sharks chairman Steve Mace remained non-commital about the Fonua-Blake chase, but said: \u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t any club consider a player like Addin? He\u2019d be a valuable asset to any team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fonua-Blake, 28, could be the gamebreaker the Sharks crave to forge deeper into the finals after bowing out in the first week of the play-offs this year. Fonua-Blake would complement their existing front-row rotation including Braden Hamlin-Uele, Toby Rudolf, Royce Hunt and Tom Hazelton.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Addin Fonua-Blake is one of the hottest free agents on the market.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n

While the club is banking on further improvement from their crop of current stars, officials have held internal discussions about trumping Fonua-Blake\u2019s early suitors the Tigers, Dragons and Bulldogs.<\/p>\n

The Sharks have one big advantage: they are already entrenched as a finals team and can offer Fonua-Blake a chance to go further than the Warriors\u2019 preliminary final appearance this season.<\/p>\n

They have cleared salary cap space with the departures of Matt Moylan (Leigh) and Connor Tracey (Bulldogs), allowing them to be a major player in the transfer market for 2025.<\/p>\n

Fonua-Blake was named alongside Payne Haas at prop in the Dally M Team of the Year and can command one of the highest salaries for a forward in NRL history after a barnstorming three seasons across the Tasman.<\/p>\n

The Warriors have already moved to counter Fonua-Blake\u2019s departure, signing Broncos veteran Kurt Capewell to an immediate switch after Brisbane\u2019s heartbreaking grand final loss.<\/p>\n

The club said Fonua-Blake would be required to stay in New Zealand until the end of 2024, but was free to return to Australia after that.<\/p>\n

The unexpected entry of Fonua-Blake into the player market added extra spice to the summer, which has been dominated by Jarome Luai\u2019s decision on whether to leave the Panthers.<\/p>\n

The five-eighth has received interest from both the Tigers and Bulldogs, but has yet to decide whether to move on from the three-time defending champions Penrith to land a multi-million dollar payday with a Sydney rival.<\/p>\n

Sports news, results and expert commentary.<\/i><\/b> Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Most Viewed in Sport<\/h2>\n

From our partners<\/h3>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. The Sharks are considering making a play for […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297845,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nNew club joins the hunt for Addin Fonua-Blake - Sportstoft<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-league\/new-club-joins-the-hunt-for-addin-fonua-blake\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New club joins the hunt for Addin Fonua-Blake - Sportstoft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. The Sharks are considering making a play for [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-league\/new-club-joins-the-hunt-for-addin-fonua-blake\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sportstoft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-12T18:00:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeanette\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/New-club-joins-the-hunt-for-Addin-Fonua-Blake.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jeanette\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-league\/new-club-joins-the-hunt-for-addin-fonua-blake\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-league\/new-club-joins-the-hunt-for-addin-fonua-blake\/\",\"name\":\"New club joins the hunt for Addin Fonua-Blake - Sportstoft\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-12T18:00:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-12T18:00:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-league\/new-club-joins-the-hunt-for-addin-fonua-blake\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-league\/new-club-joins-the-hunt-for-addin-fonua-blake\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-league\/new-club-joins-the-hunt-for-addin-fonua-blake\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Rugby League\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/category\/rugby-league\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"New club joins the hunt for Addin Fonua-Blake\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/\",\"name\":\"Sportstoft\",\"description\":\"sportstoft.com\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\",\"name\":\"Jeanette\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jeanette\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New club joins the hunt for Addin Fonua-Blake - Sportstoft","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-league\/new-club-joins-the-hunt-for-addin-fonua-blake\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New club joins the hunt for Addin Fonua-Blake - Sportstoft","og_description":"Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. The Sharks are considering making a play for [...]","og_url":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-league\/new-club-joins-the-hunt-for-addin-fonua-blake\/","og_site_name":"Sportstoft","article_published_time":"2023-12-12T18:00:09+00:00","author":"Jeanette","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/New-club-joins-the-hunt-for-Addin-Fonua-Blake.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jeanette","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-league\/new-club-joins-the-hunt-for-addin-fonua-blake\/","url":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-league\/new-club-joins-the-hunt-for-addin-fonua-blake\/","name":"New club joins the hunt for Addin Fonua-Blake - Sportstoft","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-12-12T18:00:09+00:00","dateModified":"2023-12-12T18:00:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-league\/new-club-joins-the-hunt-for-addin-fonua-blake\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-league\/new-club-joins-the-hunt-for-addin-fonua-blake\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-league\/new-club-joins-the-hunt-for-addin-fonua-blake\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Rugby League","item":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/category\/rugby-league\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"New club joins the hunt for Addin Fonua-Blake"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/","name":"Sportstoft","description":"sportstoft.com","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609","name":"Jeanette","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jeanette"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297846"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=297846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/297845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}