Shock new reveal about Ryan Papenhuyzen contract that could see Storm lose Sua Fa'alogo
Papenhuyzen's contract detail leaves Fa'alogo facing even more uncertainty.
Sua Fa'alogo's future at the Melbourne Storm has been thrust into even more uncertainty after new details emerged around Ryan Papenhuyzen's contract extension. Papenhuyzen put weeks of speculation to bed in December after signing a one-year extension that keeps him in Melbourne until the end of the 2026 season.
Papenhuyzen originally knocked back the Storm's extension which represented a significant pay cut for the injury-plagued star. The 26-year-old went onto the open market and had plenty of interest from rival clubs but ultimately decided he had unfinished business in Melbourne and wanted to win another premiership with the Storm.
However, the new deal also poses a dilemma for the Storm, who have to figure out a way to fit young gun Fa'alogo into the same side as Papenhuyzen. The 21-year-old livewire is seen by many as Papenhuyzen's long-term successor at the Storm, with fears that a new deal for his rival No.1 could see the young gun move elsewhere.
It's understood Fa'alogo has a handshake agreement with the Storm that allows him to leave if Papenhuyzen commits to the club long-term. And while that isn't exactly the case with Papenhuyzen's new deal after the Storm confirmed he was locked in until the end of the 2026 season, the NRL have actually revealed on their official signing tracker that Papenhuyzen has a mutual option for 2027 as well.
It means the player and club can both extend Papenhuyzen's deal by an extra year, with clubs often automatically enforcing the extension if the player features in a certain amount of games across the season. Those specific terms for Papenhuyzen's new deal have not been made public but the situation casts more doubts around Fa'alogo's future, especially if his rival No.1 stays beyond next year.
Fa'alogo has shown enough evidence in his blossoming NRL career that he's a superstar in the making and would be a starter at many other rival clubs. But the 21-year-old knows his opportunities and playing time will be limited as long as Papenhuyzen remains Melbourne's fullback. However, there is no doubt interest in the electric fullback would be massive if he was to request a release from Melbourne.
Storm want Ryan Papenhuyzen to mentor Sua Fa'alogo
The Storm’s director of football Frank Ponissi has already indicated the club wants to hold onto the young gun and believes Papenhuyzen has a big role to play in mentoring his teammate. "It’s very difficult to measure (Papenhuyzen’s influence on Sua) and we’ve seen that throughout our club for a long time,” Ponissi told News Corp last month. “Billy Slater tells of when he first came as a young bloke, Robbie Ross played an important role in his development.
“Billy’s done a lot of work with many players but the two who stand out for me are Cameron Munster, and Paps (Papenhuyzen), and Paps is continuing that with Sua. It’s what he brings off the field which people can’t see.” The big question will be whether Fa'alogo is content with playing an expected utility role in 2025, with league great Bryan Fletcher among those to suggest the 21-year-old could leave if he doesn't get enough game time.
"He's waiting in the wings, he's been waiting a couple of years. I don't think he can wait until 2027... there's another option in play. I feel that if he doesn't get much of a run next year, then he'll go. And that's fair enough," Fletcher said on SEN radio.
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Fletcher says Fa'alogo is too good a player to be used as a bench utility that may only play 15 minutes per game. But former NRL player Joel Caine says he believes the Storm would view the 21-year-old as integral to their premiership hopes. "They (Storm) would believe they're that close to winning this comp," Caine said on SEN. "They'd be saying 'yes we've done the handshake deal (with Fa'alogo) and we have signed Pappy, just hang on for one more year."
With Papenhuyzen set to start as Melbourne's No.1 again in 2025, it leaves Fa'alogo potentially vying for a spot on the wing or being content with a bench utility role in the new season. But with Xavier Coates and William Warbrick cementing their spots on the wing and Tyran Wishart one of the NRL's best utilities in 2024, Fa'alogo's future may well lie away from Melbourne.
