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Posted: 2024-07-29 01:49:47

In short:

Stefano Utoikamanu will leave the Wests Tigers at the end of the season.

The prop had been offered a five-year contract to stay with the club but will instead test the open market.

What's next?

The 24-year-old front-rower has been linked to both Canterbury and Melbourne.

Wantaway prop Stefano Utoikamanu has informed Wests Tigers he will quit the NRL club at the end of the 2024 season.

Utoikamanu's contract stand-off has rumbled throughout the year, with the one-time NSW State of Origin forward telling the Tigers on Monday he will not agree to new terms.

The front-rower, who has been linked with moves to both Canterbury and Melbourne, had been offered a five-year deal by the Tigers to remain at the club. 

Utoikamanu only came onto the open market because of a clause inserted into his last deal by the Tigers' previous administration. 

If he failed to make the NSW team or the Tigers missed the top eight, he would be free to explore his options.

Utoikamanu was overlooked by the Blues for all three games of the series and Benji Marshall's side is bottom of the NRL ladder and on track for a third-straight wooden spoon. 

The 24-year-old's exit leaves the Tigers short of high-quality forwards for 2025.

Isaiah Papali'i is set to join Penrith and the future of English second-rower John Bateman remains under a cloud after he was loaned to Super League club Warrington. 

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