Manly has signed Tolutau Koula to a five-year premiership extension in a huge boost ahead of the NRL season.
The deal will keep the 23-year-old Tongan international at the Sea Eagles until at least the end of the 2031 season. Several clubs, including the Perth Bears, had identified Koula as a player of interest.
Tolutau Koula is a genuine speedster.Credit: NRL Photos
However, Koula – who scored 17 tries in 22 appearances last season and was named Manly’s 2025 Roy Bull player of the year – is staying put.
“Tolu’s form last year was simply outstanding and deservedly, he was our player of the year,” Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold said.
“In the three years that I’ve coached Tolu, I’ve seen a guy who has obviously got great athletic ability, but his consistency, his efforts at training, and his ability to break tackles has been there for all to see.
“Tolu is a very humble guy who has real passion for the club, and he is among a group of players who are the future of the club. I feel like Tolu’s best football is in front him and that he can become one of the game’s most elite outside backs.
“We are all thrilled he has committed long term.”
Koula made his NRL debut with Manly in 2022 and has since scored 38 tries in 82 appearances.
The Sea Eagles kick off the 2026 campaign at 4 Pines Park against the Canberra Raiders on Saturday March 7.
Storm star Coates sidelined for three months
Melbourne Storm winger Xavier Coates will undergo Achilles surgery and miss the first three months of the NRL season.
The club hopes the Queensland star will be back in round 10.
Storm winger Xavier Coates.Credit: Getty Images
Coates’ absence will increase scrutiny on the Storm’s pursuit of former Parramatta back Zac Lomax who is locked in a legal fight with the Eels.
Parramatta began legal proceedings to prevent Lomax from joining the Storm, given his release from a four-year contract was contingent on the Eels providing written consent. The Blues winger was granted a release to join rebel rugby competition R360, but has been left in limbo after its inaugural season was put back until 2028.
Coates suffered a partial Achilles tear during the grand final last year.
Storm football director Frank Ponissi said Coates would be missed.
“Xavier has put in a huge amount of work across pre-season and has been able to make positive steps in his recovery,” Ponissi said.
“Unfortunately, he has not been able to progress as we would have hoped, and with the season fast approaching, surgery has been determined as the best course of action.”
Coates enjoyed his most prolific season for the Storm in 2025 with 20 tries from 22 games.
The Storm have named former New Zealand rugby sevens star Moses Leo in Coates’ role for their trial match against Gold Coast Titans on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday night.
Roosters’ star signing sidelined
Roosters star signing Reece Robson will miss the first month of the NRL season after suffering a broken hand two weeks out from their season-opening trip to New Zealand.
Robson is facing six to eight weeks on the sidelines, with the club to confirm the NSW Origin hooker’s injury blow on Thursday.
The 27-year-old had been named to play his first game in red, white and blue in Saturday’s trial match against Parramatta, where fellow prized recruit Daly Cherry-Evans will also step out in his first game for the club.
But Robson’s setback will delay the Roosters assembling of one of the game’s truly elite playmaking spines, including captain James Tedesco and livewire halfback Sam Walker alongside Robson and Cherry-Evans.
Robson’s recovery time frame is expected to rule him out of at least the Roosters’ opening four games against the Warriors, Rabbitohs, Panthers and Sea Eagles, with a bye following in round five.
Reece Robson will start 2026 on the sidelines for the Roosters.
Credit: Getty Images
Robson joins the Tricolours on a lucrative four-year deal that trumped North Queensland’s attempts to re-sign him in 2024, and arrived at the Roosters as the incumbent Blues No.9 from the past two Origin series.
Fellow NSW Origin representative Connor Watson is one option to replace Robson to start the season, while Samoan international Benaiah Ioelu impressed when he saw increased game time at dummy-half last year as well.
Perth Bears set to sign NSW Origin star
The Perth Bears are set to sign their first State of Origin player, with Sifa Talakai confirming he was leaning towards taking up a three-year offer with the new NRL franchise.
Talakai said a move west appealed not only because it offered the chance to set up his family financially – he and his partner welcomed their fourth child last month – but also as Perth held sentimental appeal, since it was where he made his NRL debut and played his first Origin game for NSW.
The 28-year-old said he hoped to make a call by the end of the week, and there would be plenty of emotions if it was his final year in the Shire.
“It’s something my partner and I have been talking about, and we know it’s a great opportunity – why wouldn’t you want to go over there and be a founding member as well,” Talakai told this masthead.
“It’s going to be hard to get a deal done here at Cronulla. If I had the opportunity to stay, I would, but it’s not about me any more. It’s about what’s best for me, my partner and my family.
“I don’t want to stand in the way of any players coming through. I’m definitely entertaining the Perth deal.”
Siosifa Talakai in action for NSW against Queensland in 2022.Credit: Chris Hyde
Bears coach Mal Meninga has long been a fan of Talakai’s versatility, but told the 28-year-old he would predominantly be used as a middle forward. Meninga has made it clear to Talakai and other signing targets a move to Perth is a “life decision”.
Being posted on the other side of the country with a young family was not a concern, said Talakai, and “my partner and I are at the stage we can hold our own”.
“I haven’t had the chance to go over there, but Perth holds a special place in my heart because it’s where I debuted for South Sydney in 2016, and I played my first Origin game with the Blues in 2022,” Talakai said.
“When I’ve had to think about the contract situation, and when going back and forth with my manager and partner, and looking back through the years, it kind of brought me to tears. Even speaking now, I feel like I’m getting emotional. This place gave me everything I’ve got now. They gave me a crack when nobody else did.
“I’m really grateful to the Sharks. If they wanted me to go to hell and back to help secure a premiership, I’d do it without thinking twice. I want to leave no stone unturned, whether this is my last season or not. I’ll be giving it a good crack.”
Talakai can play in the middle, an edge and even the centres, where he terrorised rivals with his leg speed and nuggety frame.
The Bears have already landed several NRL regulars, including Toby Sexton, who is spending the year in the south of France with Catalans before returning to Perth, Melbourne pair Tyran Wishart and Nick Meaney, Canterbury’s Josh Curran, while Penrith and New Zealand international Scott Sorensen has also been linked to the Bears.
Leo Thompson has suffered a grade three calf tear.Credit: Canterbury Bulldogs
Hammer blow for Dogs as Thompson calf tear confirmed
Canterbury have been dealt a major blow after key off-season recruit Leo Thompson was ruled out for up to three months with a calf tear.
The Kiwi prop was a late withdrawal from the Maori All Stars after reporting pain in his calf, with scans on Tuesday confirming the worst news. Canterbury head of football Phil Gould said via social an MRI scan had confirmed a grade-three tear.
“Ten weeks return to play at this stage, it is what it is, we move on; tough game rugby league,” Gould posted on X.
The news came a day after five-eighth Matt Burton was cleared of a hamstring tear, having come off in the trial against Newcastle at the weekend
Gould said Burton would play in the Las Vegas season opener against St George Illawarra on Sunday week if fit, though the club has the option of being extra cautious with their No.6 given they have the bye in round two.
Burton’s potential replacement, Sean O’Sullivan, said he was ready to partner Lachie Galvin in the halves, but was backing Burton to be 100 per cent.
Burton was immediately brought from the field against Newcastle when he suffered discomfort in his left hamstring after playing the ball. He came to the sideline, was forced to make a tackle on Knights winger Dominic Young, then disappeared up the tunnel.
Gould, however, broke the good news on Burton to his followers on X, telling them: “Matt Burton MRI scan today shows no tear of the hamstring. Awaiting full report, but appears good to go.”
“No reason to take any risks in round one. No reason to take big risks anytime when you have depth in your squad. However, if Matt Burton is right to play, he’ll be our five-eighth.”
Ciraldo confirmed after the big trial win over Newcastle that O’Sullivan, who arrived from the Dolphins over the summer, would slot straight in if Burton needed more time.
“I’ve done heaps of reps in the halves,” O’Sullivan said. “I’m rooting for Burto. I want him to be super fit, I’m sure he will be.”
Former Sea Eagles boss in the frame to take over England’s top job
Former Manly Sea Eagles CEO Tony Mestrov has emerged as a frontrunner to take over the running of the game in England.
The Rugby Football League [RFL], which oversees the Super League and the England national team, is on the lookout for a group chief executive following the departure of Tony Sutton. Abi Ekoku is the interim CEO.
Sources not authorised to speak publicly given the recruitment process is ongoing said Mestrov was identified as a person of interest. Mestrov’s most recent role was as CEO of Manly for three-and-a-half years.
Former Manly Sea Eagles CEO Tony Mestrov.Credit: Nikki Short
After his departure, Sea Eagles chairman Scott Penn lauded Mestrov for doing the “heavy lifting” after inheriting a number of legacy issues including dealing with the departures of the Fulton family, former coach Des Hasler’s legal claim against Manly (which was eventually settled out of court), the coronial inquest into the death of Keith Titmuss and the messy exit of premiership-winning skipper Daly Cherry-Evans.
Mestrov’s previous roles include being the CEO of Greyhounds NSW, the chief operating officer of the Gold Coast Titans and the CEO of Hockey NSW. A former prop forward for the Rabbitohs and Sea Eagles, Mestrov also spent seven years in England playing for Wigan and London.
The RFL recently underwent a strategic review and is seeking an experienced hand to lift the game in England. Given the financial struggles of some English clubs, the NRL is considering taking over the running of the game in the country.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
