Shane Flanagan is hoping to finally bring a marquee signing to the St George Illawarra Dragons, with the new reigning head coach looking to out-muscle the Dolphins with a cashed-up offer for Jeremy Marshall-King.
Marshall-King is off contract at the end of next season and is already thinking about his NRL future beyond his current Dolphins deal.
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While the dial has been pointing towards the 28-year-old hooker staying in Redcliffe for some time now, Flanagan has recently circled the New Zealand international as one top option to pair with Jacob Liddle or (should he re-sign) Fa’amanu Brown in a dual-rake pivot—and he’s pretty confident he can get him.
If successful, it would be a huge signing for the Dragons, even if it’s not the most glamourous pick-up. “JMK” has been a shining revelation since joining the Dolphins and is regarded as one of the best players at the expansion club.
Up until an injury last year, he was even tipped to play for the Kiwis at the Pacific Championships.
The Dragons will face some staunch resistance though. The Dolphins have already made in-roads to re-signing Marshall-King, with the club tabling a contract upgrade recently. He’s being paid $600,000 a season right now, but The Sporting Base understands the new deal will net him closer to $750,000 each campaign.
St George Illawarra would be able to more than match that and is ready with an $800,000 bid fuelled by the fact several stars like Tyrell Sloan, Jack Bird and Jack De Belin have not yet been retained. Flanagan is unlikely to keep all of them, with De Belin’s exit especially likely; it would free up basically what the Dragons would pay Marshall-King.
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Marshall-King has yet to indicate to anyone behind the scenes which way he’s angling, though staying at the Dolphins is the more likely of the moves for the Kiwi international today.
