Addin Fonua-Blake, a Wantaway Warriors standout, was observed meeting with Wests Tigers.
The Wests Tigers and Warriors star Addin Fonua-Blake met in an attempt to get back to Sydney for the 2025 NRL season.
Fonua-Blake and the Tigers met on Thursday at Haberfield Rowers, according to 9News Sydney.
This week, he is scheduled to meet with the Bulldogs and the Dragons after Canterbury general manager Phil Gould expressed interest in the standout prop.
Fonua-Blake had originally requested an immediate release from the Warriors to return to Sydney but has since agreed to play out the 2024 NRL season with the club.
With Tevita Pangai Junior retiring and Franklin Pele and Luke Thompson joining the Super League, the Bulldogs have lost a ton of depth in the front row.
When questioned on SEN if he is interested in Fonua-Blake, Gould gave a positive recommendation before saying that “he’s not cheap”.
“Yeah Addin’s a quality player, I have a lot of time for Addin,” he stated.
“As a consultant, I worked with the Warriors for a short while during COVID and had the opportunity to watch Addin in person. He is an excellent player.
“Although he’s not cheap, Addin should attract a lot of interest.”
People will be waiting in line to sign him, there’s no doubt about it. He must return to Australia for family reasons, which he is working through with the Warriors.”
The Bulldogs did had their sights set on Sio Siua Taukeiaho, the champion of the Roosters premiership, as a front row target.
Gould clarified the issue after the Catalans prop’s failed medical meant he would not be playing in the NRL again.
“He was a player that we were really keen to pursue, he had a year to go on his contract at Catalans, they were looking for some kind of replacement if he was to come back to the NRL and any deal with us was subject to a medical, as they normally are,” he said.
Unfortunately, late in the season over there in France, his team went to the final, he played with injury in the finals and the grand final and it only made it worse.
“By the time he got back here he’s got a serious foot injury that requires surgery.
“There was two types of surgery for that, one type of surgery could get him back in 10-12 weeks, if he had to have the bigger surgery it could take a hell of a lot longer than that and that’s the one he now needs.
“He wouldn’t pass any medical to get an offer from us to come back into the NRL. I imagine he’ll be going back to Catalans to complete his contract. In the short-term he’s going to have surgery and quite a lengthy rehab.”
After missing out on Taukeiaho, Gould did contend the Bulldogs have a shortage in the forwards they need to address.
“I think everyone knows that, and sees that, the problem is there’s nothing really on the market to buy and we don’t want to rush out and spend the money,” he said.
“We’ve probably got a bit more than people see there. We’ve got some young blokes there that didn’t play a lot of football, they’d (fans) be feeling a lot better about it if they’d seen them play and we’re hoping they can get more time on the pitch next year.
We’re seeking, for sure, and we have the funds to open up spots. We understand that this is a challenge for us, too, and we’re working to overcome it. In my opinion, though, we’re in a slightly better position than the typical applicant.
“Internally we’re pretty confident in the blokes we’ve got can get a job done for us, no doubt we are looking for an experienced middle forward though.”
On March 9, the Bulldogs’ opening NRL match of the upcoming season is against the Eels.
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