Eels out to stop junior exodus with big offer for young gun

He has been linked away from the club this week.

The Parramatta Eels have reportedly offered young gun Blaize Talagi a three-year contract extension.

The young gun – who will line up at fullback in place of the injured Clint Gutherson this weekend for the blue and gold – has impressed in his NRL opportunities thus far.

Rated as one of the best junior talents in the game, the Eels were this week rocked by the news Talagi was set to explore his options on the open market.

Talagi has a player option in his favour for 2025, meaning he has no obligation to stay at the Eels and has been able to receive contract offers since November 1.

While it’s unclear if any offers have come his way, The Sydney Morning Herald is now reporting the Eels have made Talagi the offer of a three-year extension that would retain him in blue and gold until at least the end of 2027.

“We want Blaize here at the club. We probably still don’t know what his best position is. Five-eighth, fullback, centre? Centre is probably the easiest position when you are starting out. But we want to keep him,” Arthur told the publication on his star young gun.

Talagi has been seen by many as the heir to Clint Gutherson’s number one jersey – a title which may be closer than assumed given Gutherson’s knee issues.

Despite that, Talagi is now no guarantee of remaining at the Eels, with the club desperate to not let another player fall through the cracks.

Parramatta’s junior development and retention has been slammed in recent times, something the club acknowledged after bringing Nathan Brown – who has now departed – into a role designed to fix that problem.

Brown’s revamp at the club couldn’t stop the Canberra Raiders from snaring young gun Ethan Sanders though, who will make the move away from the Eels at the end of 2024.

With other juniors departing, it’s little surprise that the Eels are now desperate to keep Talagi, who has the potential to become one of the club’s most important players in the coming years.