Manly make surprise call on Brandon Smith amid Roosters hooker's search for new NRL club

Manly have told Yahoo Sport Australia they're the latest NRL club to officially put a red line through Brandon Smith, casting further doubt over his near and long-term future. Smith's status at Bondi looks increasingly uncertain following news Reece Robson will head to the Roosters in 2026 as the club's first-choice No.9.

The Kiwi international, currently making his way back from a knee reconstruction, has vowed to stay and fight for his spot but appears very much on the outer. Smith is off contract at the end of 2025 and revealed his management has been shopping him to a number of clubs.

"If I feel like I’m not wanted, if my skills are not wanted for this year, then you’d think about (changing clubs)," he told the 'Bye Round' podcast. "But with my mind at the moment, I don’t want to go into that realm and think about that stuff.

"My goal is to make sure I have the best year with the Roosters I can possibly have and make sure other clubs, if they are going to sign me, know what they’re going to get. Right now Roosters is my team. I’m trying to put that team first."

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Rivals appears hesitant to make a move on Smith, wary of his hefty price tag and concerned over his knee injury and impact on club culture. Manly CEO Tony Mestrov confirmed there was zero interest in pursuing the 28-year-old.

Manly Sea Eagles happy with playing stocks at hooker

The Sea Eagles feel they are well off for hookers and won't be chasing players for that position. Mestrov told Yahoo Sport Australia: "Obviously we've got a good hooker in Lachlan Croker and then there's Gordon Chan Kum Tong and Jake Simpkin off the bench.

"There's some really good competition between those three and we have high hopes for young Zaidas Muagututia, who we will see emerge over the next year or so. Brandon Smith is a quality player but we have no plans to make a move on him. We don’t have room in the salary cap and we're very happy with what we've got."

Muagututia's name won't be familiar to most fans but the Sea Eagles are excited about his future. The 18-year-old joins Manly after a stand-out year for Canterbury's Jersey Flegg side. He also played hooker in the NSW City under-18s side.

"Zaidas is in our full-time supplementary training program for 2025 and will then join the top 30 squad the following season," Manly coach Anthony Seibold said. "We feel Zaidas can progress in the coming years. He is a very talented dummy half."