Greg Alexander's telling Ryan Papenhuyzen revelation amid Storm bombshell
Reports emerged that the superstar Melbourne fullback has been shopped to a rival club.
Rugby league great Greg Alexander has shed light on a concern for Ryan Papenhuyzen, amid a bombshell recent report the Melbourne Storm star has been shopped to a rival NRL club. The Sydney Morning Herald reported over the weekend that a third party acting on behalf of the Storm had approached a rival club to gauge their interest in the 25-year-old, whose contract runs until the 2025 season.
Papenhuyzen is a favourite among Storm fans and was a pivotal part of Melbourne's 2020 premiership-winning team. However, the live-wire fullback has spent an extended period on the sidelines over the last couple of seasons, having shattered a knee cap in 2022, before suffering a horror ankle break in just his third game back in 2023.
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Reports linking Papenhuyzen with an NRL rival come after the meteoric rise of Storm young gun Sualauvi Faalogo, who is set for a significant contract upgrade after starring for Samoa in the recent Pacific Championship Test series. Storm bosses have already started working on at least doubling the budding star's pay as they intend on upgrading him into the club's top 30 for the 2024 season.
What it all means for Papenhuyzen is far from clear, with the fullback competing for the Storm fullback role against Faalogo and Nick Meaney, who excelled in the absence of Papenhuyzen throughout last season. Melbourne are reportedly looking to bolster their forward pack and would need to free up some salary cap space to make it happen.
Greg Alexander throws support behind Ryan Papenhuyzen
There have also been concerns raised by rugby league experts about whether Papenhuyzen's body can hold up against the rigours of first grade footy in the wake of his injury setbacks. Alexander says after speaking with the 25-year-old last week though, he's backing Papenhuyzen to return to the NRL bigger and better, despite the fullback's concern that his most recent ankle injury is on the same leg that he suffered the career-threatening knee mishap.
“I think he’ll be back (to his best), I saw him last Friday, he was very confident that he’d be back running after Christmas and ready to go,” Alexander revealed on SEN 1170. “The knee will have more time to heal, he said the only worry is the fact that it is the same leg, the broken ankle was the same (leg) as the knee.
“The quad and the muscle in his thigh wasted away a little. I think he’ll be back.” Papenhuyzen signed a three-year extension with the Storm in 2021 that's worth around $2 million, meaning Melbourne could free up a large chunk of salary cap space in the event he was let go.
Storm brush off Ryan Papenhuyzen reports
Storm powerbrokers have brushed off suggestions they could be looking to offload Papenhuyzen though, with Alexander saying if it were up to him to decide the fullback's future at Melbourne, he'd be willing to back the premiership winner. “I’d go with him, I’d take that risk... I think he’ll recover, and the knee will be fine,” Alexander said.
“By the time he gets back on the field after another off-season, even though it’s an injured off-season, I don’t think that will be an issue, the knee.” Papenhuyzen's situation has been complicated by the rise of Faalogo, who looks like he could nail down a regular spot in the Storm squad as an X-factor bench utility.
Faalogo is currently on a development list contract and earns $60,000 a year, but that’s set to at least double in 2024 as the Storm look to upgrade him into the side's top 30. Storm's general manager Frank Ponissi told Fox Sports the young gun is locked down to the club, with an option to extend until 2025 in his contract.
“We plan for him to be in our top 30 (next year). He is a star, but an even better young man,” Ponissi said. Before his debut Samoa coach Ben Gardiner said Faalogo has maturity beyond his years.
“He’s not the young guy who stands back and doesn’t say anything," Ponissi said. "He’s the guy who is prepared to talk when needed to talk and do his job when he is needed to do his job... The energy he brings is unbelievable.”
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