Parramatta prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard is a free agent and despite his next club appearing set in stone a few days ago, the former representative forward’s future is now up in the air.
According to an explosive report from The Daily Telegraph, Campbell-Gillard has rejected the chance to sign with St George-Illawarra on a two-year deal, a move that infuriated Dragon coach Shane Flanagan.
The Eels confirmed on Tuesday Campbell-Gillard would be released from the final year of his contract to join a rival NRL club from 2025. It was initially believed the 31-year-old would leave Sydney for the first time in his career and sign with the Brisbane Broncos, though salary cap constraints meant Kevin Walters’ side is unable to complete a deal for the middle.
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It’s now understood RCG will remain in Sydney next season, but at which club remains to be seen.
It’s believed the Rabbitohs can’t afford his reported $750,000 a year salary, while the Eels and Dragons are both off seemingly the cards, leaving six clubs in contention for his signature in theory — thought some are much more realistic options than others.
Here foxsports.com.au analyses the potential Sydney suitors for Campbell-Gillard and whether they have the capacity to sign the ex-Origin star.
ROOSTERS
The Roosters shape as an interesting landing spot for Campbell-Gillard with veteran Jared Waerea-Hargreaves departing for the Super League.
Joseph Suaalii, Joseph Manu, Luke Keary and Sitili Tupouniua are also leaving, opening up cap space for Trent Robinson to spend.
With young guns Siua Wong, De La Salle Va’a and Xavier Va’a in line to slot into the forward pack, the Tricolours could target an experienced face to join their ranks.
Alongside Lindsay Collins, Terrell May and Spencer Leniu, Campbell-Gillard could be a perfect option to complete that four-pronged middle attack.
However, it remains to be seen whether the Roosters would be willing to hand the veteran prop the three-year deal he’s seeking with a host of young guns coming through the ranks.
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BULLDOGS
This move looks unlikely considering the Bulldogs’ salary cap position.
Phil Gould and Cameron Ciraldo welcomed a host of new troops to Belmore this season, namely Bronson Xerri, Stephen Crichton, Connor Tracey, Blake Taaffe, Jaeman Salmon, Josh Curran, Drew Hutchison, Kurt Mann, Jake Turpin, Poasa Faamausili among others.
Canterbury-Bankstown were in the market for a middle forward, but have already recruited Tom Amone (Leigh Leopards) and Sitili Tupouniua (Sydney Roosters) ahead of the 2025 season.
Both those players look set to add starch to the Bulldogs’ forward pack and could make it difficult for the club to fit in Campbell-Gillard’s reported $750k salary.
Gould was reportedly interested in the former Panthers prop when it emerged he was on the market, but nothing has eventuated as it stands.
However, the Bulldogs shape as a hugely enticing destination for someone like Campbell-Gillard, who could add experience to a side on the up.
Should he be willing to take a pay cut, Gould and Ciraldo could be tempted to hand him a contract to complete their squad for 2025.
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PANTHERS
A return to the foot of the mountains for RCG? It seems unlikely, but stranger things have happened.
Campbell-Gillard left the Panthers in 2019 with five years remaining in his contract, having signed his new deal only the year prior.
Rumours swirled of a rift between him and his former teammates, while his attitude was reportedly also a concern during his final season at the club.
“I left the club, moved on, came to a new club and hold no grudges towards any player,” Campbell-Gillard said in 2022, putting cold water on those rumours.
However now, with James Fisher-Harris departing, could the Panthers make a play for his services?
Penrith are savvy when it comes to their salary cap, and a move for a player north of 30 years old would seem to be a move out of the ordinary for the reigning premiers.
Lindsay Smith and Liam Henry have proven to be more than capable middle forwards, with Smith often being promoted to the starting side.
Henry, meanwhile, has filled the big shoes left by Spencer Leniu, albeit with his own hardy defensive approach.
Throw in the mix 2025 recruit Isaiah Papali’i, and rising stars Luron Patea, Mavrik Geyer and the uncapped Harrison Hassett and the Panthers look set for years to come.
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SEA EAGLES
The Sea Eagles shape as an interesting landing spot for Campbell-Gillard.
Karl Lawton (Cowboys) and Jamie Humphreys (Rabbitohs) are already on the move, while Matt Lodge and Corey Waddell aren’t signed beyond 2024 as it stands.
Aaron Woods also has announced his retirement alongside Brad Parker, freeing up a host of top 30 spots.
Dean Matterson, Aitasi James and Lehi Hopoate all join the top 30, but that still leaves spots available for Anthony Seibold to go to the market.
It remains to be seen whether the Sea Eagles have the cap space available to afford his salary, but Campbell-Gillard would form a strong middle partnership with the likes of Taniela Paseka, Nathan Brown and Jake Trbojevic.
But with Josh Aloiai, Toafofoa Sipley and Ben Condon also at the club, Manly may not be in the market for a middle forward.
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TIGERS
If all else fails, the Tigers shape as RCG’s likeliest destination given the club’s desperate need for middle forwards, and experienced heads.
Young star Stefano Utoikamanu and Isaiah Papali’i have already exited the club, with John Bateman likely to follow them, leaving a hole in the middle of Benji Marshall’s side.
Enter Campbell-Gillard?
The towering middle could be exactly what the club needs; an ex-Origin and Australian star with plenty of footy left in him to mentor and motivate the club’s crop of promising young middles, including Fonua Pole and Sione Fainu.
And unlike some of the other club’s mentioned, the Tigers may have the cap space to squeeze RCG into their roster, helped by the trio of aforementioned departures.
Junior Tupou also departs the club at the end of the year, while Aidan Sezer appears likely to exit Concord at season’s end.
Add to this the arrivals of Jarome Luai, Sunia Turuva, Royce Hunt and Jack Bird, mixed with the Tigers’ impressive core of young stars spearheaded by Lachlan Galvin, and there’s something brewing at the Tigers.
Campbell-Gillard would add to this immensely, and his signing would only further confirm Benji Marshall’s side as a club on the rise.
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SHARKS
If there is one club in the NRL which doesn’t need a middle forward, it’s the Cronulla Sharks.
Craig Fitzgibbon’s side already boast an incredible catalogue of middles that includes Toby Rudolf, Cameron McInnes, Tom Hazelton, Jack Williams, Oregon Kaufusi, Braden Hamlin-Uele and Royce Hunt.
Hunt’s departure to the Tigers at the end of this year would’ve opened a spot in their roster for RCG, except for the fact the club have already secured the signature of Addin Fonua-Blake for next season and beyond.
At times this season there hasn’t even been space for Hamlin-Uele and Rudolf in Fitzgibbon’s 17, highlighting the wealth of middle forward talent available at the Sharks.
Adding RCG into the mix would only serve to complicate things from a footballing perspective.
Away from the footy field, there’s also accounting considerations to make, given the club already have Hynes and AFB on big contracts.
In the coming years Cronulla will need to sort extensions for McInnes, Daniel Atksinon, Braydon Trindall, Briton Nikora, Teig Wilton, Will Kennedy and Ronaldo Mulitalo – who all come off contract at the end of 2025.
Absorbing RCG’s contract onto the club’s books would limit the club’s ability to re-sign these stars, all of whom are crucial cogs in Fitzgibbon’s machine.
There’s also the future of young prop Max Bradbury to consider. A highly-rated NSW U19’s star, the club will be looking to debut the 21-year-old in the coming seasons, adding to the reasons why Cronulla would not be in the market for a middle.
Source Agencies
