Saifiti told he can leave as Knights battle cap crunch

Daniel Safiti has been told he can leave the Knights early, despite being signed through to the 2026 NRL season, as Adam O’Brien and Newcastle’s powerbrokers struggle to patch up the club’s bungled salary cap.

Newcastle has given the 28-year-old former Blues prop permission to speak to other clubs immediately, with the hope being he’ll find a new NRL home before the start of the next campaign.

Safiti, who has already played 173 games for his hometown club since debuting in 2016, has made it very clear he doesn’t want to move—but has admitted he’s willing to do whatever is necessary to help both the Hunter club and his family.

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“I think Stevie Wonder could see that our salary cap is not in the best position,” Saifiti told the Newcastle Herald after the news was reported by Channel Nine’s The Mole on Monday.

“They’ve been upfront and honest, and I have to respect that.

“If I wanted to dig my heels in and stay, I could stay.

“But I love this club too much if that’s the way they want to go… I’ll do what’s best for myself and my family, but I also have this club’s interests at heart as well.”

While no clubs have expressed any interest in signing the 28-year-old yet, The Sporting Base understands the Canberra Raiders and St George Illawarra Dragons have been keeping a close eye on any prop options recently. Those clubs would prefer to sign Stefano Utoikamanu, but not everyone can pick up the Tigers star.

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Safiti will still stay at the Knights into next season if he can’t find a new NRL organisation to join before then, where he will then be earning around $750,000 a year.