The Wests Tigers are hopeful of extending the tenure of Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses well beyond their one-year options and plan to stagger their deals to ensure they don't come off contract again at the same time.
Brooks and Moses are yet to decide whether to trigger contract extensions in their favour for 2017. If they wish to do so, the pair can remain with the joint-venture outfit for about $600,000, the price where the bidding war will need to start for potential suitors. They have until June to test the market before deciding whether to stay put, making them free agents alongside fellow playmakers Benji Marshall, Cooper Cronk, Corey Norman, Luke Keary, Cody Walker and Lachlan Coote.
The Tigers have little room to move under their cap for next season and are seeking to put together a package that will keep Brooks and Moses well beyond then.
However, the club is mindful of the disruption of having two of its marquee names going through a negotiation process at the same time and would like to stagger the pair's future contracts to avoid the situation.
The current scenario is similar to what Manly went through with Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans, who were both exploring their options last season after their deals lapsed. The ongoing uncertainty about their futures, coupled with a similar cloud about whether coach Geoff Toovey would be retained, dominated reporting on the club and proved to be an unwanted distraction. The Sea Eagles subsequently missed the semi-finals for the first time in a decade and had to produce a $10 million "lifetime" contract for Cherry-Evans to make sure both internationals weren't lost.
Mark O'Neill, a former premiership-winning Tigers forward, has rejoined the club as its football manager after a stint at rugby league headquarters. He has made keeping Brooks and Moses his top priority since starting his new role and is hopeful of putting together an attractive proposition to the pair, who share the same management agency. The halves have shown signs they are ready to fulfil their undoubted potential in a bright start to 2016. The Tigers won their opening two matches courtesy of a flamboyant style of play, with Brooks, Moses and star fullback James Tedesco combining strongly.
Brooks said he was focused solely on football and would put contract considerations to the side for now. "I'm still just worried about playing footy, I'm not worried about that too much," Brooks said last week. "I've still got a bit of time so I'll focus on playing footy."
Asked if money would be the motivating factor in any decision, Brooks said: "No, it's not about money at all. It's about what is going to best suit me and let me play my best footy."
While Brooks and Moses are the priorities, the Tigers are already looking at contingency plans should they lose one or both. Melbourne pivot Blake Green is a potential target, while a homecoming for Marshall could be another option depending on what happens in the latest halves merry-go-round.
This story originally appeared on www.smh.com.au
