In a surprising turn of events, the Wests Tigers have granted Jarome Luai permission to explore opportunities elsewhere for the upcoming season, prompting speculation about his potential replacement.
Michael Ennis, a former NRL player, has thrown Mitchell Moses' name into the mix as a candidate for a Tigers comeback, where he initially made his NRL debut in 2014.
Duriing his four years at the Tigers, Moses played in 67 matches before moving to the Parramatta Eels in 2017, where he realized his potential and became one of the top halves in the league.
There is a growing belief that the Tigers' decision to allow Luai to seek opportunities elsewhere could be a strategy to allocate funds to retain promising prospects Samuela and Latu Fainu, who are both set to be off-contract at the end of 2027.
The Fainu brothers, former Manly juniors, have shown significant promise but have faced injuries that have hampered the start of their careers.
"The talk is Latu Fainu. They want to extend him. We haven't seen the best of Latu yet, there has been so much optimism around him," Ennis stated during Friday night's broadcast.
"He was a schoolboys star (but) just hasn't been able to do that (at the Tigers yet). His body has let him down."
Ennis further commented, "I don't think they make this decision unless there's someone sitting in the background that they're looking to spend a fair chunk of this $1.2 million on to come in and do that."
Despite Moses being under contract through the end of the 2029 season, Ennis speculates that if the circumstances align correctly, he could become a viable option, although it seems unlikely the Eels would release him without compensation.