St George Illawarra officials are all ready to make Jack de Belin a one-club player via a new two-year extension, as long as whoever becomes the next Dragons head coach gives the re-signing the tick.
De Belin activated his 2024 option this week and will play on with the Dragons.
[bet-au-3]
While that decision was all in his hands, talks have been ongoing between St George Illawarra powerbrokers and de Belin’s management to add a further two years to the deal and tie him up to the last days of the 2026 NRL season. The prop-come-lock would be 34 by then and is expected to call time on his playing career.
As The Sporting Base understands, the Dragons are very eager to make de Belin a one-club player and believe he can still be a key player for the club through to the eve of his 35th birthday.
The whole situation only hinges on any new coach and their decision.
If the next top boss in Illawarra is happy to keep de Belin in their forward rotation, the 32-year-old will be officially offered the two-year extension and is expected to waste no time signing.
De Belin was sidelined from rugby league for nearly three years under the NRL’s no-fault stand-down policy after being charged with sexual assault following an encounter with a woman in Wollongong.
After several trials and deliberations, a final jury was unable to reach a verdict on five of the six charges he was facing. A not-guilty verdict was returned on the sixth charge.
On May 27, 2021, all remaining charges were dropped and de Belin was cleared to return to play. He signed a new four-year deal with the Illawarra club soon after and played his first NRL game in nearly 1,000 days on June 3, 2021.
He has played 199 games for the joint venture since 2011.
Two weeks ago the 32-year-old was named club captain during Ben Hunt’s absence ahead of State of Origin Game I, a move that saw the Dragons catch a major amount of flack in the media and across the rugby league fandom. De Belin was sin-binned during that game against the Dolphins, which St George Illawarra lost 26-12.
“I love the Dragons and have only ever envisaged myself being a one-club man,” de Belin said recently.
“I haven’t got a magical number in my head, but I had three years out of the game [between 2018 and 2020], so I’d like to add three years at the other end. In that time off I looked after my body. I’m a young 32, and still feel fantastic body-wise.
“The club has been loyal to me and I have been loyal to the club. It’s a two-way street, and we have both been good to each other. I would like to think it continues on in the future.”
[bet-au-3]
