Tony Veitch and Michael Guerin discuss potential Warriors signings for 2018.
The Warriors are watching Cronulla and former Warriors five-eighth James Maloney's situation with interest as they look to find a replacement for Kieran Foran.
The club is weighing up their options around whether to splurge on signing up to three quality forwards to bolster their struggling pack or use the money to recruit an experienced playmaker for next season.
If the Warriors are able to strengthen their forward stocks they will be more confident in investing in off-contract rookie No6 Ata Hingano long-term, believing he could fulfill his potential behind a dominant pack.
But if they fall short in their hopes to recruit more big men their focus will shift to signing a top shelf five-eighth to support star halfback Shaun Johnson.
Maloney, who helped guide the Warriors to the 2011 grand final during a three-year stint in Auckland, fits that bill, having delivered the Sharks a maiden premiership last season after winning a title with the Sydney Roosters in 2013.
The 30-year-old has a year to run on his current contract understood to be worth $650,000 per season and wants an upgrade and extension, but at this stage the Sharks are not willing to play ball.
The Warriors are prepared to throw more cash at the Kangaroos and NSW State of Origin playmaker to lure him back to Auckland, while the Newcastle Knights are also keen on signing him, should he be allowed to exit the Shire.
"If he was on the market, he's been here, so he'd be worth looking at," said Warriors recruitment manager Tony Iro.
"I still think there's a little bit of movement in the player market to come yet."
Maloney helped deliver the Sharks their maiden premiership with last season's NRL grand final win over Melbourne. Photo / Photosport.
Sources in Sydney reveal Maloney's manager Wayne Beavis has been shopping his client around to rival clubs for some time, but the Sharks are not willing to let him go unless they have a plan B in place. The reigning premiers have already let young gun Jack Bird go to the Brisbane Broncos for next season, but they could potentially enter the race to sign departing Melbourne Storm halfback Cooper Cronk.
Recent talk that Maloney has fallen out with Sharks coach Shane Flanagan is wide of the mark, but Flanagan is understandably concerned by Maloney's patchy defence and the fact he leads the NRL in penalties conceded, with a whopping 21 to his name before the season reaches the halfway point.
His potential departure would not go down well with the club's supporters, after Maloney was last year named in the Sharks 'Team of the Half Century' to mark the club's 50th anniversary, beating out the likes of fan favourite Mitch Healey, who gave the club a decade of service between 1990-2000.
Maloney first joined the Warriors in 2010 following stints with Melbourne and Parramatta, and quickly established himself as the first-choice five-eighth, playing 75 matches before leaving at the end of 2012 with family reasons behind his decision to return to Sydney.
Now entering the twilight of his career, a lucrative long-term deal could be enough to entice him to return to Mt Smart Stadium, but Newcastle may loom as a more likely destination, as Maloney and his wife Jessica both have family close by on the New South Wales Central Coast.
