Ramien up for grabs: Tigers spree stretches to Cronulla

Jesse Ramien is the latest Wests Tigers target heading into the 2023 NRL season, with the off-contract Cronulla Sharks try-scorer quickly climbing to the top of Tim Sheens’ shopping list amidst the club’s mega rebuild.

The Tigers have been very active in recent weeks, scooping up John Bateman, David Klemmer, and Sione Fainu for their 2023 squad.

Championship hooker Api Koroisau and young gun winger Charlie Staines (from the Panthers) and Isaiah Papali’i (from the Eels) are also set to join the Sheens project from next season—but the shopping spree from Sheens and assistant coach Benji Marshall is apparently far from done.

Ramien, 25, is off contract for the 2024 NRL season.

The Dubbo junior has been playing for the Sharks since 2020 in his second stint for the Cronulla team. He won the 2016 premiership with the white-and-blue team before moving to the Hunter with the Newcastle Knights in 2019.

The Tigers will face staunch resistance from the Sharks—who have had “positive” talks—and the ever-looming Dolphins, who need to buy more proven stars.

Apparently, according to the Daily Telegraph, the main reason the Tigers are after the 25-year-old centre is Benji; the deputy coach likes what he sees in the try-scorer and believes Wests can build him into one of the best backline attackers in the game if they can grab him from 2024.

The Sharks have similar aspirations with their 79-game star.

The Sporting Base understands Sheens and Marshall like the wingers and centres they have at their disposal, but certainly aren’t against upgrading if they can squeeze it into the newly expanded NRL salary cap.

Tim Pascoe, the Tigers manager, refused to comment when pushed by the Telegraph and said the club was “happy” with the 2023 squad they have already put together. Download Our Free NRL App

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