Josh Hodgson still Tigers-bound despite rumblings of surprise Panthers poach

Josh Hodgson is still expected to be the Wests Tigers starting number nine next year, despite rumblings Api Koroisau will be squeezed out of the Penrith Panthers over growing salary cap concerns in the reigning premiers’ camp.

The Sporting Base has heard that Hodgson is still the number one target for the Tigers, with the Concord club already having tabled a two-year offer. The former Raiders captain has a year left on his Canberra deal, but has been given permission to speak to rivals.

News Corp has reported that Raiders coach Ricky Stuart and man-in-the-microscope Tigers coach Michael Maguire sat down to speak about the Hodgson swap as recently as two weeks ago.

The Raiders are desperate to get Hodgon’s last $800,000 pay-day off the books.

The swap will see the Canberra club pay a slice of the Englishman’s contract with the Tigers, though the major sticking point has been how the two teams will divvy up the payments. This roadblock put the deal on hold for a time, as Maguire hands the negotiating reigns over to incoming head of football performance Tim Sheens now that he’s got his feet under the desk.

Ricky is expected to tap Tom Starling for their long-term hooker spot, which makes sense considering the Windsor boy already played 19 games this season as the Raiders ran aground in tenth.

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A potential Panther-sized spanner has been thrown in the works though.

The Tigers have allegedly caught wind of Apisai Korosiau’s time at Penrith coming to an end, which has led Nine to report they’ve roped in the Hodgson deal originally tabled to the Englishman in favour of sounding out the possibility of Korosiau’s switch.

As far as The Sporting Base understands, these are just player market tactics coming out of both Penrith and Concord. The Tigers still heavily favour the forced-out Raider to wear their number nine over Jake Simpkin, and Maguire is desperate to finally land a blow in NRL’s rostermania after missing several key targets early on.

Koroisau is more likely to end up joining the Dolphins in 2023 after his deal expires.

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Hodgson would be a valuable pickup for the Tigers in the experience department, and give them a stable base from which to play in the ruck and the center of the park. The veteran Englishman joined the Raiders in 2015 from Hull Kingston Rovers, and has gone on to play 120 games in the Australian capital, including a 2019 grand final loss to the Roosters.

The 31-year-old has represented England 19 times, and Great Britain twice.

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