He’s barely burst on the scene for Parramatta and Maika Sivo is already the target of rugby union’s dollars with the 15-man game putting the electric Eels in their sights.
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Just two years after they struck to steal Semi Radradra, rugby union is attempting to pinch the Eels’ latest cult hero with Maika Sivo receiving a shock offer to switch codes.
Eels fans are still hurting after Radradra quit the club to play rugby union in 2017, and the Fijian flyer’s heir apparent could also be tempted to quit the NRL after being offered a deal to play for Australia at the Olympic Games.
The Sunday Telegraph can reveal Sivo, 25, was last week approached with a bombshell offer to play rugby sevens for Australia.
In a brazen move that came as the NRL’s top tryscorer prepared for the Eels’ sudden-death showdown against the Storm, a team official contacted Sivo’s management stable with an offer for the 105kg to play for Australia at the 2024 Olympics.
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Sivo is hot property already. Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images.MORE NRL NEWS
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Despite only moving from Fiji four years ago to pursue his rugby league dream, Sivo was told he would be eligible to play alongside the likes of Lewis Holland and Tom Connor in the Australian rugby sevens team at the Paris Olympics, should he make the switch.
While money was not discussed, it is understood Sivo could earn up to $100,000 for a 16-week stint leading up to the Olympics. Sivo would also be eligible to pursue a Super Rugby contract.
In a concern for Eels fans after the Clint Gutherson contract saga earlier this year, Parramatta have so far failed in their bid to extend Sivo’s contract.
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The Sunday Telegraph can reveal the rookie sensation is likely to hit the open market on November 1 after rejecting a new three-year deal that included an upgrade offer of just over $100,000.
Contracted until the end of next year on a minimum wage deal of $72,500 plus match payments, the Eels offered to boost his 2020 contract to just over $200,000 as part of a new three-year deal worth about $1 million.
And rival clubs are preparing to swoop, with one Sydney club earmarking the try-scoring machine as a $600,000-a-year player.
Could Sivo follow in Radradra’s footsteps again? Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images.Since signing on to play with the Eels on a minimum wage deal, Sivo has become a contender for bargain-basement buy of the decade, with the 25-year-old topping the NRL tryscorers’ list and being the odds-on favourite to become the NRL’s rookie of the year.
Arthur is hopeful Sivo will remain at the Eels and go on to surpass the feats of union runaway Radradra.
“Right from the start I could tell we had a player,” Arthur said.
“From when we first got our hands on Semi to when we first got our hands on Maika, Maika was further along. And he knew the game better.
“He wasn’t as good physically but he had only done three or four weeks pre-season with us because he had the shoulder reconstruction.’’
Sivo is also hopeful of remaining at the Eels, with the former Panther loving life at Parramatta after the club gave him his NRL shot.
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