Jamal Fogarty will play with the Raiders in 2022, The Sporting Base understands, after the Gold Coast Titans agreed to terms with the Canberra club to release the 27-year-old two years early.
The Titans co-captain has put pen to paper on a three-year deal with the Raiders.
The new contract will see Fogarty paid just over $1 million over the course of the next 36 months, and pair with Jack Wighton in the halves heading into 2022. Their combo will mark the NRL’s only current Indigenous playmaking duo, if playing rosters remain close to the same.
His arrival solves a major problem for the Raiders; the green machine was left halves-strapped after George Williams departed the club mid-season to return home to the Super League. It also makes way for Titans trio Toby Sexton, AJ Brimson, and Tanah Boyd to make their bids for the no.7 on the Gold Coast, in what is sure to be a headache for Justin Holbrook.
All that stands in the way of Jamal Fogarty’s move is the club announcements. The NRL has reportedly ratified the deal this weekend, stamping the deal with their seal of approval.
Fogarty originally cracked into the NRL via Gold Coast’s development squad.
The late-blooming star was handed a two-year deal, one-half development, one-half top-squad, in 2020. Since then he’s gone on to play 41 games in the blue, white, and gold, and had recently drawn up a new deal that would keep him on the Gold Coast until the end of 2023.
It was originally reported that the Titans wanted a trade deal if they were to ship Fogarty to the nation’s capital, with their eyes set on Josh Hodgson. The veteran hooker would have complimented their young playmakers in the rest of the spine quite well, but that deal appears to have turned into a simple player move instead.
The 27-year-old represented the Indigenous All Stars in a blockbuster match against the New Zealand Maori at Queensland Country Bank earlier this year. So far it’s his only rep appearance.
