Joey Manu has toured the PNG Chiefs' Port Moresby facilities and held advanced discussions with the incoming NRL franchise over a marquee contract, as the cross-code talent battle enters a new phase ahead of the club's inaugural 2028 season. The 29-year-old former Sydney Roosters centre visited with his family on Monday, having spent recent weeks in New Zealand following the conclusion of the French Top 14 season — where he currently holds a deal with Racing 92 estimated to be worth as much as €1 million ($1.6 million) per season.
The financial case for PNG
Manu's earning power has long been the central obstacle to any NRL return. When he departed the Roosters after 181 games — widely regarded at the time as the best centre in the competition — the club could offer him only around $800,000 a season, roughly half what he now commands in France. Even with the NRL salary cap projected to climb to at least $15 million in 2028 off the back of the record $5.3 billion broadcast deal, that represents a rise of around 24 per cent — still not enough for mainstream clubs to match overseas rugby wages without serious cap consequences.
The PNG Chiefs, however, occupy a unique position. Their tax exemption arrangement — in place between the Australian and Papua New Guinean governments — means any player holding Australian resident status would receive their salary tax-free. Manu qualifies on that basis, making the Chiefs the only NRL club realistically able to compete with the financial pull of European and Japanese rugby. The tax exemption does not extend to Kiwi or English players, limiting its reach for some international recruits.
The Roosters had long been floated as the sentimental destination for a Manu homecoming, but it is understood the club privately acknowledged earlier this year that his earnings abroad made a return through normal cap channels unworkable.
Zac Lomax also in PNG's sights
Manu is not the only high-profile cross-code name being courted by the Chiefs. Zac Lomax, the former NSW Origin winger now playing for the Western Force in Super Rugby, is expected to make his own visit to Port Moresby within the coming week. Lomax took a significant pay cut to join rugby union after the R360 project collapsed, and has since knocked back an approach from the Storm for next season, choosing instead to chase a Wallabies spot ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Once that campaign concludes, however, sources indicate Lomax faces a stark financial reality. The gap between his current Western Force earnings and his previous Parramatta Eels deal is estimated at around $350,000 a year, making a well-structured Chiefs offer potentially the most lucrative path available to him post-2027.
Manu's timeline and next steps
Manu still has one year remaining on his Racing 92 contract and is due to return to France in September. Sources familiar with the negotiations say 2027 is expected to be his final season in European rugby, with the player keen to move back closer to family in New Zealand once that deal expires. A return to Japanese club rugby — where he played in 2024 after leaving the NRL — remains an option, though the PNG proposition is understood to be a genuine and serious consideration.
The Warriors had previously explored the possibility of Manu taking up a short-term NRL stint during French rugby's four-month off-season, but that approach was declined. A similar window in mid-2027 could yet open the door for a temporary NRL return ahead of a permanent switch.
PNG have also made an offer to 19-year-old Queensland Reds prospect Treyvon Pritchard, though the Roosters are also understood to have entered the race with a competing bid to bring him into the NRL. Coach Willie Peters is assembling an ambitious roster, and the Chiefs' financial structure is increasingly proving to be the franchise's most powerful recruiting weapon in the intensifying battle for elite rugby league talent.
