Campbell-Gillard, who has been given permission to find a new home for 2025 despite having a year to run on his Eels contract, had held talks about a shift to Townsville for the latter part of his career.

But according to sources not authorised to discuss the matter publicly because of the confidential discussions, North Queensland had baulked at Campbell-Gillard’s request for a three-year deal and were unlikely to progress at the current terms.

Campbell-Gillard, 31, is open to a change and has been exploring the possibility of moving north, but the Cowboys have been unwilling to budge on a two-year deal which would run until the end of 2026.

St George Illawarra is the other club interested in Campbell-Gillard, but is yet to table a formal offer and also expressed reluctance at negotiating a three-year term.

Ryles has already given Maika Sivo and Ryan Matterson the chance to find new homes next year, but Campbell-Gillard is expected to be a much more attractive proposition to other clubs as the incoming coach looks to shake up his roster.

The Eels received a huge boost on Thursday when they announced the signature of boom Panthers rookie Isaiah Iongi – just weeks after Parramatta local junior Blaize Talagi walked out on the club to sign with Penrith.

Iongi is seen as Clint Gutherson’s long-term replacement at fullback for the Eels, immediately injecting speed into a backline which has lacked electric pace in recent seasons.

He made his NRL debut earlier this month in the Panthers’ dramatic win over the Knights, but his path was blocked behind Dylan Edwards and Daine Laurie at Penrith.

”Isaiah is a talented player with a promising future, he will be a wonderful addition to our backline next season,” Eels general manager Mark O’Neill said. “We look forward to welcoming him and his family at our club in the coming months.”

Why Cleary injury caps most disrupted year of Panthers’ reign

Christian Nicolussi

Nathan Cleary is eyeing a return in week one of the finals, according to Panthers coach Ivan Cleary, as his latest shoulder injury caps the most disrupted year to date for the premiers.

Brad Schneider has been named in the No.6 jersey and Jarome Luai at halfback as the Panthers try to keep their minor premiership hopes alive at Canberra on Saturday.

Cleary missed more than two months in the middle of the season due to a hamstring problem, only to break down again with a left shoulder injury last Thursday night.

He subluxed the shoulder and re-aggravated scarring around the labrum from an injury that also sidelined him for three weeks in January.

Ivan Cleary admitted it had been hard to watch his son stay down in pain, and realised almost immediately what it meant to the club’s hopes of a fourth straight title.

“He’s OK, he’s obviously disappointed, and the scans definitely could have been worse – [week one of the finals] is what we’re hoping for,” Cleary said on Tuesday.

“It was fairly significant [the injury in January]. I remember thinking it’s not a good thing going into a very long season with that. That was in the lead-up to the World Club Challenge. He got through that. And having more time with his hamstring, he was able to strengthen it.

“It’s been quite a disrupted year for us as a team. We’ve had guys coming in and out. Other teams have had the same, but whether it’s injury or suspension or Origin, [it’s happened to us] all year.

“I guess we’re used to it. And to be honest, we’re ready for it, no matter what happens the rest of the year.

“It’s not that easy [watching Nathan injured]. Certainly on the weekend it was a cross between understanding [his] relevance to the team and where we are in the season, and also as his dad, knowing how shattered he will be.”

Cleary’s injury and a suspension to Mitch Kenny means the Panthers will field their 11th different ‘spine’ combination this year. Their first-choice spine of Dylan Edwards, Luai, Cleary and Kenny have played just five times together this year.

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“We’ve had an excellent season, but we’ve faced more disruption than we have before, and our depth is a lot younger and more inexperienced,” Cleary said. “We’ve blooded six rookies and another two who were pretty much rookies in Jack Cole and Liam Henry. We’ll adapt and try to get our best game on this week.”

Luai has blossomed under the responsibility of leading Penrith around the park in his last season at the club before he joins Wests Tigers.

Cleary described rival clubs’ pursuit of Luai as a halfback when he was untried at the time as a “risk”, but said: “He hadn’t done it [then]. I always said he could, and he has. I was always hoping he could do that for us this year with Nathan being out so long and so often.”

Roosters Origin duo earn contract extensions

Dan Walsh

NSW Origin debutants Spencer Leniu and Connor Watson have earned themselves finals-eve pay days after inking two-year extensions to keep them at the Roosters until the end of 2027.

Leniu emerged as one of the NRL’s form front-rowers throughout the Blues Origin series win, prompting the Roosters to tie him down long term before he came off-contract and rival clubs could present formal offers from November 1.

The Panthers premiership-winner joined the Roosters on a two-year deal worth around $550,000 this season, and despite starting his time at the club with an eight-game suspension for racially abusing Brisbane’s Ezra Mam, has played well above that price in earning his new deal.

Watson has done the same after making his NSW debut. His extension comes just 18 months after a ruptured patella tendon had him considering retirement at the age of 27, before the Roosters offered him the security of a two-year contract while he was out injured.

Watson has been ruled out of Sunday’s clash against the Titans due to a HIA sustained against Parramatta last week.

The Roosters still have significant salary cap space for next season and beyond, with halfback Sam Walker a retention priority given the looming exodus of Joey Manu, Joseph Suaalii, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Luke Keary.

‘Case closed’: Annesley hits back after O’Brien criticises referees

The NRL’s head of football, Graham Annesley, has hit back at Knights coach Adam O’Brien after he criticised referee Gerard Sutton’s decision to sin bin Phoenix Crossland and deny Kalyn Ponga’s field goal in Newcastle’s 19-18 loss to Cronulla on Sunday.

O’Brien said Sutton’s decision to send Crossland to the bin on the half-time siren was “ridiculous”, that he was wrong to deny Ponga’s field goal, and that Annesley would find a way to “dress it up” and defend Sutton’s decision.

Cronulla and Newcastle each had field goals taken away for attacking players preventing defenders from stopping field-goal attempts, a tactic Annesley said teams were warned about in the off-season.

“This is factual. This is straight out of the laws and interpretations that every club has a copy of. This is factual law of the game. So, if I’m accused of dressing it up, I’ll accept that if it means that I have to just give you the facts,” Annesley said.

The NRL handbook rules that referees or the video referees may rule obstruction if any player of the attacking team, in relation to a field goal, takes up a position near the play-the-ball and in the opinion of the referees, obstructs the defenders regardless of if there is physical contact.

“This is not something that has appeared in round 24,” Annesley said. “In the off-season, there were meetings that were held with coaches, there was documentation sent to coaches, there were videos that were produced before round one and we have discussed in this forum on multiple occasions throughout the course of the year, players who stand between the ruck and the kicker in order to create an obstruction [are not allowed].

“In these types of situations, if you do not want to take the risk of having field goals disallowed, don’t put these [obstructing] players in this position. You’re inviting the referee to take the action... Obstruction, blockers, case closed.”

Annesley said Sutton’s decision to also disallow Daniel Atkinson’s first field goal for Cronulla was similarly the right call.

“The [Knights] defenders have to run either around or in between players to get to the kicker. So it’s absolutely consistent,” he said.

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“It went both ways, both for the same action, both with blockers between the ruck and the kicker, and again if that’s dressing it up, I’ll cop it on the chin. It’s factual, it’s the rules of the game, and players and coaches have to abide by those rules or suffer the consequences.”

Annesley also backed Sutton’s decision to send Crossland to the bin on the half-time siren for intentionally trying to prevent a Sharks play-the-ball on the cusp of half-time.

“This has been described as a ridiculous decision, and my personal opinion is that there is absolutely nothing ridiculous about this decision at all,” Annesley said.

“The referee clearly identifies that it was an attempt [from Crossland] to stop the play-the-ball before half-time. That’s a professional foul. That’s not a regular holding down penalty...it was not a matter of repeated infringements.”

“So, there is nothing ridiculous about this decision. It’s 100 per cent correct and I think the audio and the video speaks for itself.”

‘It was just dumb by me’: Atkinson agrees with controversial field goal call

Daniel Atkinson had only played two NRL games before 2024. Fourteen games, two field goals and three halves partners later, he’s a major reason Cronulla are guaranteed to play finals football and could seal a spot in the top four.

With Cronulla’s first-choice halves pairing of Nicho Hynes and Braydon Trindall still out with injuries, Atkinson has taken on the role of the Shark’s new ‘ice man’ after kicking the winning field goal in drama-filled golden point victory for Cronulla on Sunday afternoon.

“Seeing the raw emotion of when the boys looked up and turned around. I think that was more special than the drop goal,” Atkinson said.

It was an eventful afternoon in the Shire, after Atkinson and Knight’s fullback Kalyn Ponga were denied field-goals due to obstructing defending players.

But Atkinson said he agreed with referee Gerrard Sutton’s decision to disallow the first of his two field goals, and said he was easily able to reset to slot the game-winning goal.

“That’s why I’m in the halves, that’s why I play. The boys need me to slot this. It’s my job,” he said. “I didn’t know I had to kick a field goal tonight but when it’s needed, the boys expect you to ice them.”

“I wasn’t rattled [after the first one] because I got it. It was just dumb by me, to be honest. I had blockers there, I just got excited because it was a quick play-the-ball. It was a fair call. It didn’t rattle me. It was probably just more, ‘I shouldn’t have taken that’.”

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Trindall and Hynes are both expected to return for Cronulla before the end of the regular season. In the interim, Atkinson has proven to be a valuable addition for Cronulla, and said he owed his success this year to the halves he learnt under first at Melbourne and now at Cronulla.

“I’ve got to thank Nicho a lot, Nicho’s taking time out of his life, and now he’s injured he’s helping me with video, just little stuff to keep an eye on. He’s helped me a lot. We see each other every day, really. We do a bit of video here and there but most of it’s just verbal,” he said.

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