Melbourne Storm boss makes call on Ryan Papenhuyzen position switch amid Sua Fa'alogo dilemma

Storm chief executive Justin Rodski says there's a growing belief that Ryan Papenhuyzen will extend his deal beyond 2025 as he laid out a plan to fit both the superstar fullback and young gun Sua Fa'alogo into the Melbourne side moving forward. Papenhuyzen has one year left on his deal and has been free to negotiate with rival clubs since November 1 for 2026 and beyond.

But the 26-year-old has reportedly decided to extend his deal with Melbourne after knocking back advances from NRL rivals, in particular the Bulldogs, who were willing to offer him significantly more money. The 2020 Clive Churchill Medal winner always insisted money wouldn't be a deciding factor for his next contract and the Storm are confident he will sign a new one-year extension with the club, keeping him in Melbourne at least until the end of 2026.

"It's in a positive position where we're getting more and more confident in Ryan extending with us. We're working through those details," Rodski said. "At the moment, there's a couple of different options on the table that we're discussing, but at this point in time we're getting more and more confident that he'll remain in Melbourne and extend his contract with us."

Melbourne Storm determined to hold onto Sua Fa'alogo

However, news of the star fullback's new deal has plunged the future of boom rookie Fa'alogo into doubt. The Samoan youngster dazzled upon bursting onto the NRL scene in 2023 and his contract situation is one several rival clubs are understood to be monitoring closely.

But the Storm are confident they can find a spot in the team for Fa'alogo, who was deployed on the wing at points in the back half of the season as Melbourne pushed for a premiership in 2024. However, any talk of Papenhuyzen being moved out of the No.1 jersey to accommodate Fa'alogo in the starting side was promptly shut down by Rodski.

"He knows that and I think we all know that Ryan Papenhuyzen in full flight is our starting fullback," Rodski said. "We're pretty confident, off the back of the finish to the season that we've just had, that he'll come back at full strength, he'll have his full pace back, and it's going to be really exciting for everyone to see.

"Sua's obviously an up-and-coming star of the competition. He's on a long-term contract with us. We're going to have to work through what positions he can play. We want him to be playing as much first grade as possible.

"You never know what's going to happen. You never know what's going to happen with injuries. You never know what's going to happen with other positions. But I can guarantee that we'll be doing everything we can to see more of Sua in 2025 and beyond."

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Melbourne Storm may entertain Sua Fa'alogo loan in 2026

Another hypothesised option for Fa'alogo was to send him out on loan to continue playing first-grade footy and then return to the Storm to potentially replace Papenhuyzen at the end of his current deal. Craig Bellamy previously sent Harry Grant on loan in 2020 as part of a swap deal with Wests Tigers for Paul Momirovski and a similar arrangement could be on the cards with Fa'alogo.

Rodski says that option is not on the table for 2025, but it is an option the club could consider in 2026 and beyond as they continue to juggle two high-quality fullback options. "We've always got everything on the table, and that's certainly an option in the future," Rodski said.

"It won't be for 2025 but whether it is for 2026 and beyond, is something that we'll sit down and explore at the right time, but there's a lot of water to go under the bridge before we even entertain that."

with agencies