Front-rower Francis Molo may not join the Dolphins after all for the rest of season and next year after dramas with the early exit deal from St George Illawarra.
The 30-year-old was due to link with former coach Kristian Woolf who was a Broncos assistant when he made his NRL debut in 2014 after a tumultuous two months.
Molo had taken a leave of absence from Dragons training since early this year after taking umbrage with a comment from an assistant coach.
But now St George Illawarra coach Shane Flanagan has declared they will take him back after the deal has been delayed because the Dolphins want to pay a transfer fee but the Dragons are insisting Molo pays the money himself to negotiate a release.
As part of Molo’s exit, he had to pay a termination fee with the prop to pay back a sizeable sum to the Dragons. But the Dolphins want to pay the money on behalf of Molo to secure his services but that would mean an extra $100,000 would go on St George Illawarra’s salary cap and they have dug in their heels.
“I don’t want Frank to go,” Flanagan told NewsCorp on Thursday.
“Part of the settlement is that he pays the money back, so if he has signed a new contract with the Dolphins, he can’t do that if he hasn’t paid the money to us. In the end, if it gets resolved, we will move on.”
Molo’s manager Wade Rushton had earlier claimed the move to the Dolphins was “not about money” and all about playing for a club where he had a strong relationship with the coaching staff and felt he could thrive as a man and footballer.
Molo’s contract dispute had proven a constant headache for the Dragons as they were unable to sign a replacement for their most powerful prop given their top-30 roster was full.
Club officials at one stage approached the NRL for help on how to handle the matter, but were unable to secure dispensation.
They eventually released winger Mikaele Ravalawa to South Sydney for the rest of the season last week, allowing them to sign former Test prop David Klemmer.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
But Molo’s exit will clear significant salary cap space, given he was on a deal in the vicinity of $550,000 per year for both 2025 and 2026.
Flanagan is also monitoring the situation at Manly with Daly Cherry-Evans unsigned for next year although he believes the club stalwart will stick with the Sea Eagles if he chooses to play on.
“Daly’s a great player but I think he should stay at Manly,” he said. “It’s one thing to have some money available but it depends what’s on the market.
“If you want someone for this year, then they will want another year, but sometimes players become available, so we’ll just see what happens.”
with AAP