Tigers top center is reportedly likely to leave, and the club is showing interest again in him

Junior Tupou, a young winger for the Wests Tigers, is allegedly close to signing a contract with the Dolphins. This news means that his present team is resuming their pursuit of trading for Melbourne Storm center Justin Olam.

Three other teams are allegedly interested in signing Tupou, who has shown promise in his little first-grade play for the struggling Tigers.

The Dolphins were the last team to sign on, but a News Corp article claims that by the time Tupou reportedly makes the transition in 2025, the team led by Kristin Woolf will have outperformed the interest of the Canberra Raiders and Sydney Roosters.

Although it was known that the Tigers wanted to keep the winger for the foreseeable future, they also had no intention of competing with any of the other teams in the picture for salary.

Tupou has the option to change his mind within the NFL’s new ten-day cooling-off period, but if he doesn’t, he will become one of the first players to be confirmed for a 2025 trade. Tupou will still play for the Tigers in 2024.

However, with Tupou’s departure, it appears that the Tigers are once more interested in Justin Olam.

Although Olam and the new Tigers head coach Benji Marshall met in Melbourne almost a month ago, the club’s interest had cooled off. Nevertheless, they are now back at the table.

The center has been out of favor with the Storm since the middle of the 2023 campaign. Despite receiving an offer to play in the Super League, the representative from Papua New Guinea decided to stay and defend his spot.

Though Shawn Blore, who is thought to have signed with the Storm for 2025 anyhow, may be offered by the Tigers in a player swap to bring the center to Concord for 2024, Olam may be lured away from the Storm by a move to Sydney.

After a difficult 2023 finals series, the Storm are eager to bolster their forward lineup, and Blore’s arrival—which would free Trent Loiero to move into the middle—might be just what the doctor ordered.

The Dolphins, Tigers, and Storm have not released a statement.

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