NRL Market Watch: Moses Mbye to join St Helens freeing up Lussick to move to Eels

St George Illawarra have granted highly-rated halfback Jayden Sullivan permission to negotiate with rival clubs effectively immediately.

Sullivan met incoming coach Shane Flanagan on Wednesday and was told he was free to look elsewhere.

Sullivan’s manager Mario Tartak is now shopping the Dragons local junior to rival clubs, including Canterbury, Wests Tigers, and Newcastle.

While the Bulldogs appeared certain to sign him, coach Cameron Ciraldo has eased off after securing Toby Sexton from the Gold Coast.

The Tigers are now odds-on favourites to secure him.

Sullivan’s pay packet is in the $500,000 a season range and the Dragons may have to contribute to his next contract to make the halfback a more attractive option to rivals.

He had two more years left on his current deal.

MBYE’S SUPER LEAGUE MOVE A GIFT FOR EELS

—Michael Carayannis

Mbye is expected to join Super League giants St Helens in a move which will have ramifications for three clubs across both competitions. The likely departure of Mbye will help solve Parramatta’s hooking woes with St Helens now expected to grant hooker Joey Lussick a release to join the Eels from next week.

Lussick is contracted to St Helens until the end of next year but Mbye is considered a strong enough replacement to allow the Super League club to release Lussick to re-join the Eels.

Mbye was off-contract at the end of season and had already been told by the Dragons that he would not be offered a new deal. Instead he will leave the club early enabling the Dragons to save money on their salary cap for the rest of the season.

Mbye featured in St George Illawarra’s much-needed win against the Tigers on Thursday night. He had a short stint off the bench where the 29-year-old played just six minutes in what would be his final moments in the NRL.

The Dragons are in the midst of a roster shake-up. Josh Kerr was granted an early release while the likes of Zane Musgrove and Jaiyden Hunt have been told they are free to leave despite having 12 months left on their deal.

Mbye joined the Dragons from the Tigers last season with Thursday’s match his 194th top grade game. He made his debut for the Bulldogs in 2014 – playing in a grand final that season - and featured three games for Queensland in 2019.

The former Tigers skipper has found himself switching between a host of positions largely in between the halves and fullback. He also spent time in the centres and more recently at hooker.