Roosters star to tour PNG as Chiefs dangle two-year deal
Updated ,first published
Connor Watson will fly to Port Moresby on Sunday to agree a potential two-year deal with Sydney Roosters’ agent service PNG Chiefs.
Watson has been in talks with Chiefs’ general manager of football Michael Chammas for several weeks, on the heels of Jarome Luai and Alex Johnston signing with the NRL’s 19th team. His planned hit-and-run trip to the country with his partner Kiana proves he’s serious about the move.
Watson is contracted to the Roosters until the end of 2027 but has permission to leave if the club agrees a longer-term deal elsewhere.
If he signs a deal with the Chiefs, Watson will need to find a club for 2027; St George Illawarra, Manly and even Perth are considered short-term solutions. However, Watson and his management will not consider long-term offers from these clubs until they know what will happen to the Chiefs.
The 29-year-old endured an injury-plagued horror run in the first half of his career but has remained on the field since 2024, playing a style of football that has earned him an Origin call-up for NSW.
Watson is scheduled to start in Saturday evening’s draw against North Queensland in Brisbane. He will return to Sydney on Monday, when the NSW team is announced for match one of this year’s series.
“Connor is a great player and someone who has shown great resilience throughout his career,” Chammas said. “His leadership qualities and experience are something we can benefit from. We appreciate the Roosters giving him time to visit PNG with his partner and look forward to resuming discussions at the right time.”
The Dragons have been heavily linked to Watson, but he has yet to meet with interim coach Dean Young.
The Red V remain firm favorites to sign New Zealand Warriors’ unwanted point guard Luke Metcalf, especially with the Bulldogs reportedly out of the running and not prepared to pay the $1 million-per-season asking price.
Metcalf was leading the Dally M rankings before rupturing his ACL last year and has since struggled to reclaim his starting spot at the high-flying Auckland-based club, while Tanah Boyd sits 7th.
In other contract news, Cronulla warhorse Cam McInnes has attracted serious interest from York, with the Super League club set to offer him a three-year deal.
McInnes was considering a two-year offer from Perth before the Knights came to the table. Knights’ Australian owner Clint Goodchild reached out to McInnes personally.
The 32-year-old was hoping to stay in Sydney and was even prepared to agree one-year extensions with Cronulla, especially if it meant he didn’t hinder his younger team-mates from progressing into the senior class. Reports of interest from the Melbourne Storm were way off the mark.
Johnston suffered the same knee injury as Koloamatangi
Christian Nicolussi
South Sydney forward Keaon is playing with a partial tear in his knee and the same injury has forced current try scoring record holder Alex Johnston out of the Magic Round in Brisbane.
Rabbis confront Latrell Mitchell for a bulging disc in his back during Friday’s game against the Dolphins.
But Johnston was given time off to recover from the condition, which club sources, who were not authorized to comment publicly, confirmed had suffered a complete tear of his PCL in the back of his knee. He is replaced by Bayleigh Bentley-Hape.
Koloamatangi had had his right knee heavily taped since injuring himself in the win over Canterbury on April 3 and joked that Johnston was unable to cope with the same pain.
“He has the same problem as me, I’m not sure if he’s mentally strong enough to play with his injured knee; he’s a winger,” Koloamatangi said.
“Maybe it’s different because he needs to do more sprints. I’ll give him that.” [for not playing]. I have a tear in my PCL, the good thing is you can play with it, but it’s quite painful,” Koloamatangi said.
“It’s getting better every week. In a perfect world, I need some rest. I can’t give injections because it’s a ligament. I feel like I have a 50-year-old knee. It’s different than my left knee.” [I had operated on at the end of last season]. you can play without it [the PCL].”
Mitchell was nearly brought to tears by back pain against the Knights in round nine and missed the winner against Cronulla. However, he was asked to play at Suncorp Stadium as a support for NSW and the Rabbitohs.
Koloamatangi said the playing group was very confident knowing they could get the job done without Mitchell against the Sharks.
“Victories are sweeter when you can achieve it without your big names,” he said. “It’s more of a team effort. We want Latrell there every week. But there was more urgency because if we were down a few points we couldn’t give the ball to Latrell and expect him to create points. He’s someone who can change the game and win you a game.”
Cronulla received a double reinforcement with winger Ronaldo Mulitalo in their first game of the season against Canterbury on Thursday. Mulitalo ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament while on international duty in New Zealand last October.
Jesse Ramien (knee) also returned to play, while Jayden Berrell replaced Blayke Brailey at hooker and the Sharks’ 139-game favorites’ run ended due to concussion.
Jamal Fogarty (groin) returns to Manly and Joey Walsh has been dropped to the Sea Eagles’ six-man bench for their clash with Wests Tigers, who have selected Latu Fainu at hooker.
Brisbane captain Adam Reynolds (concussion) will return in time for Sunday’s clash with the Warriors, while the Dragons lose rookie halfback Kade Reed to a hand injury for the next few months.
