Daniel Saifiti contract saga takes fresh turn as Knights roster overhaul hits stumbling block

Daniel Saifiti insists he won't be taking a pay cut whether he stays or leaves Newcastle as the Knights continue to try to reshape their roster in a bid to end a 23-year premiership drought. Despite already undergoing the third-highest roster change in the NRL over the past two seasons, the Knights have tapped several players on the shoulder and told them they can look elsewhere for next season and beyond.

Newcastle have bought and sold 18 players across the past two seasons, with only the Bulldogs (25) and Tigers (21) having a greater turnover over the past 24 months. And one player who has been told he can seek pastures new is one of the club’s highest-earning players, Daniel Saifiti, who rakes in around $800,000 a season.

However, despite the club's desire to get him off the books, the former NSW State of Origin prop has declared he will only leave Newcastle if it suits his finances and football aspirations. Contracted with the Knights until the end of 2026, Saifiti flew to Queensland last week to tour the Dolphins' facilities and has a good relationship with their incoming coach Kristian Woolf from his time at Newcastle.

But despite admitting he is definitely considering a move up north, Saifiti says even if the Knights and Dolphins agree to terms for his move, he won't sign off on it unless Newcastle pay any gap between his current contract and the Dolphins' offer and carrying it in their salary cap. And not only that, Saifiti says he also wants a deal that goes beyond 2027. "If the club think I am taking a pay cut to go somewhere else, it's not happening," Saifiti said.

"I had a meeting up there and it went well. I saw it was announced (in the media) I was signed, but that's not true. I think someone from the club got an agenda so they could pay less money, but it is what it is. At the moment I am still signed at Newcastle for two years. At the end of the day, the ball is in my court and I can do what I want."

Daniel Saifiti to Dolphins makes a lot of sense

While getting a large chunk of Saifiti's salary off the books would help the Knights, a move to the Dolphins would ease a massive headache for new coach Woolf as well. Saifiti would be a logical replacement for veteran New Zealand prop Jesse Bromwich and a much-needed forward acquisition as prop Tom Flegler's future continues to be clouded in uncertainty given his shoulder injury.

But Saifiti said while if the money is not right the move simply won't happen, he also says if he is to leave he would want to go to a club with immediate premiership aspirations. "It's hard to leave Newcastle. My partner is from Newcastle, her family is from Newcastle. I'm from the Central Coast," he said.

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"If I do leave to go somewhere, even though I have been given permission to go, I don't have to go. I have to be impressed to leave. I'm not going to go somewhere where I have to rebuild all over again. It just wouldn't make sense.

"I have done that my whole career. I have been through wooden spoons. So for me to leave, I want to go to a good club."

with AAP