The St George Illawarra Dragons are reportedly keen to lure home Storm star Tyran Wishart amid conjecture Ben Hunt is on his way out of the club.
Newscorp reported the Dragons are keen to make Wishart, who is a local junior from the Illawarra area, their long-term halfback and Hunt’s successor.
The sticking point is Wishart is signed until the end of the 2026 season with an option in the Storm’s favour for that season.
That means Wishart won’t be eligible to talk with NRL rivals from November 1.
However, the Dragons are keen to target Wishart to be their halfback in 2026 if he can get a release from the final year of his Storm deal.
The son of club legend Rod Wishart, Tyran’s move to Melbourne caught fans by surprise, as he joined an ever-growing list of talented players walking out on the club early in their careers.
Wishart is torn between repaying the Storm for giving him an opportunity, but believes he is a starting half in the NRL.
The 24-year-old is stuck behind Jahrome Hughes and Cameron Munster at the Storm, who will likely play the rest of their careers in Melbourne.
Wishart has scored 14 tries and 14 goals in 55 games for the Storm since his NRL debut in 2022 and was on the bench for the grand final loss to the Panthers.
The talented playmaker filled in for both Hughes and Munster throughout the 2024 season with aplomb and looked at home as an NRL playmaker.
Melbourne and coach Craig Bellamy are big fans of Wishart and see him as their utility and back-up half going forward.
However, the Storm also have halfback Jonah Pezet on their books, so they may be willing to let one of them go in the future to pursue opportunities elsewhere.
Multiple clubs are expected to go after Wishart the moment he is allowed to negotiate with rival clubs, but that is not be for another 12 months.