Seven clubs circle as Dogs star’s asking price skyrockets
Updated . First published
Jacob Preston’s value on the open market is going up every game he plays, making it harder and harder for the Bulldogs to retain the star back-rower.
Nine.com.au revealed earlier this month that Preston isn’t happy with the Bulldogs offer and he is set to go to the open market.
Jacob Preston. NRL Imagery
At least seven clubs are reportedly keen on Preston’s services for 2028.
New chums Papua New Guinea and Perth are likely to lead the way.
Preston was superb in the Bulldogs’ impressive 42-14 defeat of the Dragons on Saturday night, scoring one try and setting up another.
His partnership with halfback Lachie Galvin is proving one of the highlights of the Bulldogs’ attack.
But it is also making it tougher for the club to retain him as his price soars.
Worrying trend Roosters must buck
Are the Sydney Roosters heading for yet another shock early exit from the finals in the wake of Sunday’s stunning defeat to the struggling Tigers?
Since their back to back titles in 2018-19, the Roosters have pretty much fallen apart at the business end of the season.
And they looked totally out of sorts against a Tigers team that, on form, has been the worst team in the NRL over the past couple of months.
Just take the past three seasons - in 2023 they crashed and burned 38-4 to the Storm. The next year, they finished third on the ladder but were thumped 30–10 (Panthers) and 30–28 (Bulldogs).
Last year they snuck into the finals in eighth spot before being eliminated 20-10 by Cronulla.
The Tigers shocked the high-flying Roosters on Sunday afternoon. Getty Images
Trent Robinson’s men were title favourites with the bookies before Sunday’s calamity that has raised serious questions about their credentials just two weeks out from the finals.
Now the Roosters have major problems they need to fix - attack, defence, attitude for starters - over the next two games.
Full marks go to the Tigers - they were expected to be flogged and things looked bad when Alex Twal was knocked down and out in the first minute and they conceded a try in the second.
But they kept getting off the canvas just when the Roosters looked set to put them away in the best win of the Benji Marshall era.
Club legend in the sights of Ronaldo
Ronaldo Mulitalo isn’t just an X-factor for Cronulla - he’s setting his sights on de-throning the greatest Shark of them all.
The lanky winger overtook a club legend on the try scoring chart in David Peachey with his two try effort against the Titans, going to 112 tries.
Ronaldo now has just one player ahead of him - the legendary Cronulla glamour boy Andrew Ettingshausen.
‘ET’ bagged 165 tries in his illustrious career with the Sharks, so Ronaldo has a fair way to go, but at 26 he has time on his side and is a speedster who knows his way to the try line.
In a season shortened by injury, he has scored 12 tries in 13 games and is certain to add to that tally in the big games ahead.
The Sharks have some fine ball players in their backline in Brayden Trindall, Nicho Hynes and Will Kennedy who give Ronaldo time and space and the crowd-pleasing winger does the rest.
The Sharks ended a two-game losing run with a vital win over the Titans - but it wasn’t all that convincing.
Ronaldo Mulitalo celebrates a try for Cronulla. Getty Images
They trailed 16-8 at half time before storming home 30-22 but are clearly missing Trindall’s direction in attack.
Warriors find another hidden gem
The Warriors have unveiled a new secret weapon in the run-in to the finals in bench back-rower Eddie Ieremia-Toeava.
The 21-year-old from Auckland has gradually become a regular in Andrew Webster’s squad in the second half of the season and produced his best display in the NRL to date in the 45-26 defeat of the Rabbitohs at Accor Stadium on Saturday night.
The lanky forward had a big impact in his 57 minutes of game time, laying on two tries and running for 150 metres.
He’s just another example of the massive talent coming through the Warriors’ ranks and it’s players like Ieremia-Toeava who give the Kiwi outfit the depth that could take them a long way in the final series.
Knights given a spoonful of reality
Josh Feledy goes over for one of his three tries. Getty Images
Coach Justin Holbrook and the Newcastle Knights have two weeks of intense soul searching with the bye next round.
In one of their biggest games of the year - old boys day - the Knights went back to their embarrassing 2025 form, losing 44-24 to Manly in a stunning display that has put their hopes of hosting a home final in doubt.
The Knights clearly thought they just had to go through the motions to beat a Manly outfit staring at a seventh straight loss.
The Sea Eagles simply wanted it more and kept the Knights’ main men - Kalyn Ponga and Bradman Best - very quiet.
Special mention to Manly centre Josh Feledy - he became the first Sea Eagle in 54 years to score a hat trick off the bench.
Even more impressive, it was an AUTHENTIC hat trick - three straight tries - a rare feat in the modern game.
Real test awaits Dolphins
The Dolphins are the form team of the NRL as we close in on the finals with 13 wins in their last 15 games - and are playing the brightest football in the league.
Coach Kristian Woolf has given his players a free rein to play what they see in front of them - and the likes of Isaiya Katoa, Jamayne Isaako, Herbie Farnworth, Selwyn Cobbo, Jack Bostock and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow are taking full advantage.
The Phins played breathtaking attacking football in the 34-16 defeat of a stubborn Parramatta Eels team at Suncorp on Friday night.
As good as they have been, the big test comes against the wounded Roosters team next weekend.
They win that and they can be called genuine title contenders as they enter their first final series.
Reece who?
That’s the question Broncos fans could be asking after Reece Walsh’s replacement Hayze Perham produced a superb display to ruin Canberra’s Josh Papalii farewell party in the national capital on Friday night.
A no frills player who earned a new contract for 2027 mid-week, Perham produced his best display at NRL level, creating a try, handling the pressure well and then scoring the winning try after the Broncos had trailed for much of the night.
Hayze Perham. Getty Images
He may not be as brilliant as Walsh - but he makes less mistakes and is a more than handy back-up option.
The game was yet another attacking shootout, with the Broncos finally prevailing 34-20.
It proved the 11th time this season the Broncos have conceded 30 points or more and despite the win, defence remains a concern.
The wishlist of a departing winger
Brian To’o had two main goals before moving on to Papua New Guinea in 2028 - and it’s a case of one down, one to go.
To’o’s wish list was to bag his 100th try, and to overtake former star fullback Rhys Wesser as the club’s greatest-ever tryscorer.
The star winger went into Thursday night’s clash against the Storm on a four game drought, but bagged a first class hat trick to pass the century mark.
Brian To’o celebrates one of his three tries on Thursday night. Getty Images
He now sits on 102 tries - just 11 short of Wesser’s career tally of 113. And while he has all of next season to catch the former fullback favourite, he may do it before 2026 is up on his form against the Storm on Thursday night.
To’o was dynamic against the team that had given the Panthers so much trouble in recent years, helping Penrith to a match-winning 22-0 lead at half-time.
With two Panthers in the sin bin early in the second half, Melbourne chipped away at the deficit, but they are not the Storm team of years gone by and were never really in the hunt despite the final score finishing a flattering 22-14.
