Ready made combo: Dolphins plot $7m double Eels swoop

3 years ago - Sportingbase

The Redcliffe Dolphins are putting together a wealthy $7.2 million package the NRL expansion club hopes can solve their playmaking woes, with Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown fast-shaping as the team’s newest targets.

Wayne Bennett and the new Queensland team went hard to secure Cameron Munster, but those plans were scuppered after the Melbourne star agreed to a four-year extension just this week.

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With “Plan A” shot to bits, the Dolphins have turned their eyes to the Eels halves.

Both Moses and Brown will become free agents from 2024 onward once that all-important November 1 deadline day hits. Both have made noises that they will test their value on the market, while also speaking to the Eels, and the Dolphins have certainly taken notice.

The expansion club is preparing a mega $7.2 million deal to potentially lure them to Redcliffe. Reports suggest Moses would get the lion’s share of the deal with around $1,000,000 a year for four years. Brown would play second fiddle, but still rake in a hefty pay day—the initial offer may be around $2,700,000 over three seasons.

The Dolphins are confident that they can score one—if not both—of the Parramatta playmakers, with the offer to keep them together on big money a big part of the expansion outfit’s 2024 sell.

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Moses and Brown give the Dolphins something else they’re fearful of missing in their new NRL-level roster: proper finals footy experience for their playmakers.

Wayne Bennett has been known to turn rocks into diamonds in the past—the Supercoach has basically become famous for it—but right now he may have to draw on a six-seven pivot of Anthony Milford and Panthers third man Sean O’Sullivan, both of whom are signed for 2023. It’s far from the strongest combo Bennett has had at his fingertips.

The Eels, of course, want to keep their halves pairing playing in Sydney’s west.

“I’ve had discussions with Wayne and (recruitment boss) Peter (O’Sullivan) about what our targets look like for 2024. Cameron (Munster) wasn’t the only one,” Dolphins boss Terry Reader told the Courier Mail. We have a number of guys we’ve been on the lookout for and we have the salary cap room to table competitive offers.”

“We are certainly in the market (for a star half), nothing changes in that regard.”

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The Bulldogs have also put their hand up for Moses, unofficially.

Canterbury-Bankstown are hoping to dive into their own $7,000,000 war chest (from 2024) to poach the halfback. There are talks the Eels have already tabled a $1,000,000 upgrade for their star.

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