Recently, on a podcast that is run by Taylan and Terrell May, Iongi has stated he would like to remain an Eel for his career to repay the faith shown in him by the club.
Question is can MON get a deal done ?
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Well that's good news, but it would wrong for the club to jump in a sign him up on a very long contract. That's what desperate clubs do, and it means they get locked in on a player regardless of how he performs in future seasons. I would much rather have our players needing to give 110% each week to keep the up and coming juniors at bay. What if he stagnates and doesn't improve, and in the meantime we have another player leapfrog him? In the end, the coach will pick the best 17 each week, and JR has shown he is willing to drop any player who is not pulling his weight.
Eli Stephens > Longfin EelOctober 14, 2025 at 6:21pm
With 2 new clubs entering I don't think we can play around with his contract, he might get snapped up by another club pretty quickly. Seems like a player who can be the fullback for next 10 years and that's rare to find in the nrl today. Just hope they can work a deal out that benefits both sides before other clubs come throwing millions around
I always hear "2 new clubs coming in" I could be way off but I do not see PNG making that much damage in the player market. Even Perth have conceaded they will struggle. I could see players, not many, going to Perth but being a new franchise it is hard. Even Dolphins struggled to get players first and that is a great place to live.
How the hell, other than offering insane money, will PNG get quality players and if they do how will they get them for more than 2 years as most will sign to their money and or an opportunity and the hell out of there once another club shows interest.
Yeah it's not really that PNG coming in that bothers me, it's the player agents using the extra clubs to drive prices up on players. Similar to what matto did to us with dolphins. They sneaky buggers
If the club can tie down the most important players on the team before that all starts they will do well. Probably single out 5-6 key players you really don't want to lose.
There was talks that PNG will have tax exempt money. So for top talent, they could be earning 45% more I.8 on 1mil you'd be saving 450K on tax. That along will have people lining up. For this reason I'm much more worried for png than bears
They should be taking now, media even saying that is a priority. His next deal will take him to 2030. Question is money, ideally before he plays Origin. Could be around $800k mark.
Replies
Well that's good news, but it would wrong for the club to jump in a sign him up on a very long contract. That's what desperate clubs do, and it means they get locked in on a player regardless of how he performs in future seasons. I would much rather have our players needing to give 110% each week to keep the up and coming juniors at bay. What if he stagnates and doesn't improve, and in the meantime we have another player leapfrog him? In the end, the coach will pick the best 17 each week, and JR has shown he is willing to drop any player who is not pulling his weight.
With 2 new clubs entering I don't think we can play around with his contract, he might get snapped up by another club pretty quickly. Seems like a player who can be the fullback for next 10 years and that's rare to find in the nrl today. Just hope they can work a deal out that benefits both sides before other clubs come throwing millions around
I always hear "2 new clubs coming in" I could be way off but I do not see PNG making that much damage in the player market. Even Perth have conceaded they will struggle. I could see players, not many, going to Perth but being a new franchise it is hard. Even Dolphins struggled to get players first and that is a great place to live.
How the hell, other than offering insane money, will PNG get quality players and if they do how will they get them for more than 2 years as most will sign to their money and or an opportunity and the hell out of there once another club shows interest.
Yeah it's not really that PNG coming in that bothers me, it's the player agents using the extra clubs to drive prices up on players. Similar to what matto did to us with dolphins. They sneaky buggers
If the club can tie down the most important players on the team before that all starts they will do well. Probably single out 5-6 key players you really don't want to lose.
There was talks that PNG will have tax exempt money. So for top talent, they could be earning 45% more I.8 on 1mil you'd be saving 450K on tax. That along will have people lining up. For this reason I'm much more worried for png than bears
They should be taking now, media even saying that is a priority. His next deal will take him to 2030. Question is money, ideally before he plays Origin. Could be around $800k mark.
Walsh and Ponga will be picked over him
Walsh sure but he is rather injury prone. I think ponga mostly done atp, I'd take Iongi over him over the next few years
Ponga at his best is as good as Walsh.