Kikau’s head turned by mouthwatering Cowboys deal as Panthers snub star forward

Viliame Kikau has been left privately seething after the Penrith Panthers hit him with a major snub this week, with the club suggesting they won’t come anywhere close to his $900k demands — a price tag another club is more than happy to cash in on.

Star Panther Kikau is asking in the realms of $900k for his next contract. The 26-year-old comes off contract at the end of 2022, and can be approached by rival clubs regarding his future as soon as November 1.

While the incredible Fijian forward wants to stay in Penrith, The Sporting Base understands the Panthers simply won’t come to the table. Penrith chairman Dave O’Neill told News Corp that, while it was a “hard” call to make, sacrificing Kikau to retain other stars — core talents Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo, Jarome Luai, Stephen Crichton, and James Fisher-Harris among them — was the club’s course heading into their 2023 contract cycle and beyond.

“We will have to address that after the season,” O’Neill said.

“I don’t know what sort of money Vili will command but I’m sure there will be clubs that will offer big dollars. It will be hard if the dollars being bandied around are true.”

In a further blow to Kikau’s chances at staying in Penrith black, the western Sydney club has recently inked a new deal with another forward; Moses Leota is expected to take up a new extension soon. The Sporting Base has heard Leota will be on around $375k a year.

While the 26-year-old’s new contract is far less than Kikau’s demands, the big slice of cash makes any potential deal for Viliame to stay at his first NRL club that much harder.

The Dragons have been long-linked to Viliame Kikau, with those rumours only heating up now that the famous Red V club is set to set Tariq Sims loose at the end of next season.

The only real stopping point, reports suggest, is the price tag.

That’s not an issue for another club that has entered the mix, however; Kikau may soon be headed back to his old stomping ground in Townsville, if he wants to accept North Queensland’s rich deal they recently tabled for the star.

Kikau played several seasons for the Cowboys’ development squad, the Holden Cup team, including 21 appearances in 2014. Whispers in the north suggest North Queensland has put a mouthwatering price on Kikau’s head as they look to recover from a barren past few years.

The plan, sources say, is to build around Kikau and James Taumalolo in the next few years.

Kikau may well take up the offer, but apparently prefers the idea of staying in Sydney.

The best option there, then, is the St George Illawarra Dragons (at least, mostly), though if the cash-flushed club is still willing to play ball over a $900k bargain remains to be seen.

The Roosters, Raiders, and Wests Tigers are other clubs that have been linked to the soon-to-be free Panthers forward too, while some publications have drawn a link between incoming Canterbury Bankstown general manager Phil Gould and the Penrith star — Gould was the reason Kikau originally joined the mountain men.

The 26-year-old has played 90 games in the NRL to date, and has played in four finals series.

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