Josh Schuster’s days at Manly could be numbered after the big-money second-rower was granted permission to open negotiations with NRL rivals.
Just 10 months after being re-signed on a three-year worth close to $2.4 million, AAP has been told Schuster was informed he is free to exit the club.
It comes with the talented 22-year-old battling for form and fitness, unable to break back into the Sea Eagles’ NRL side after an off-season of injuries and setbacks.
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Manly players learned of the news on Wednesday afternoon, but admitted they felt for the five-eighth-turned-second-rower.
“What’s going on behind the scenes is above my pay grade and something that we don’t have any control in,” hooker Lachlan Croker said.
“We just wish the best for Schuey.
“Whether that’s here or whether it’s somewhere else, we just can only be a good friend and hope that it all works out.”
A prodigiously talented youngster brought in by Bob Fulton, the Sea Eagles have long viewed Schuster as an eventual fixture of their spine.
But things have not worked out for the enigmatic star.
His 2020 debut was labelled by Benji Marshall as the best he had seen, and Schuster was a key part of Manly’s run to the 2021 preliminary finals.
But he struggled to be on the park in 2022, and by the time he was made five-eighth in 2023 his form and fitness became an issue.
Manly have played the long game with Schuster, giving him periods of conditioning last year and ruling him out of the Las Vegas round one trip through injury this season.
But he has not broken out of NSW Cup this season, and was even pulled from the field during a match in Wollongong a fortnight ago.
Schuster was not named in the 22-man NRL squad on Tuesday when second-rower Ben Trbojevic was shifted to centre, and has now been told he can look elsewhere.
“He’s a person first, before he’s a footballer,” Croker said.
“It’s the same as any issue that happens with anyone else in our team. You want to look after them as a person first.
“He’s got a lot of great mates in this team and a lot of guys that he’s gone through school with … so I’m sure they will all be looking after him.”
Manly are unlikely to wipe Schuster’s contract entirely off their books, unless another club is willing to pay the second-rower $800,000 a year.
Otherwise, Manly will need to agree to pay the difference and carry it in their salary cap until the end of 2027, for a release to be granted.
One of the NRL’s most cashed-up clubs, St George Illawarra, already ruled themselves out of the running for Schuster, when contacted by AAP on Wednesday.
– AAP