'Ain't going': Huge issue with Manly's marching orders

By Simon Brunsdon and Ben Glover

UPDATED: Immortal Andrew Johns has nominated the Gold Coast Titans as the club most in need of a player like Josh Schuster after the struggling $800,000-a-season playmaker was told by Manly he had permission to talk to other clubs, but former NSW coach Brad Fittler says there's likely to be a huge obstacle to any deal getting done.

Speaking on Wide World of Sports' Freddy and the Eighth on the same day the news broke that Schuster had been given his marching orders, Fittler doubted that any club would be willing to stump up the cash to take the 22-year-old off the Sea Eagles' hands.

Manly coach Anthony Seibold on Wednesday confirmed that Schuster had been given permission to leave at the end of the season, potentially cutting short a lucrative contract signed last year that ties him to the northern beaches until 2027.

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However, for that to happen the Sea Eagles are likely to have to shell out a significant chunk of change for the player once touted a future representative star to wear a rival's colours, although that may not be the case if performance clauses were written into the contract extension Schuster inked last year, per News Corp reports.

"I'm not sure what's the situation from the point-of-view of legalities of just cancelling someone's contract but Josh is on a lot of money. Josh ain't going anywhere," Fittler said.

"No one's giving Josh the kind of money he's on at Manly. He has the potential to be a really good player, he just hasn't shown it enough."

The Schuster situation is different to the Zac Lomax situation because in this case a potential termination of the contract is being driven by the club, not the player.

That will likely mean that the Sea Eagles must ensure that Schuster continues to be paid the full amount he is entitled to in the terms of the current contract. For that to happen either the next club he plays for has to be prepared to pay him roughly $800,000-a-seson, or Manly will have to pay the difference.

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Johns said the Titans were in need of a player with Schuster's rare ability to lay on tries, yet if there's no competition in the market for him, even a club as desperate as the Titans is unlikely to pay more than $400,000-a-season to take a punt on him.

If he was to join the Gold Coast, he would link up with his old mentor Des Hasler, who he played his best football under, and Kieran Foran, who played inside him when Schuster starred for the Sea Eagles in 2021.

That move - should the $400,000-a-season valuation prove close to the mark - would leave the Sea Eagles to pay Schuster roughly $1.2 million for him to play elsewhere for the next three seasons. It's a bitter pill to swallow and exposes the extraordinary contract offered to him just nine months ago.

Still, Fittler says the rare talents Schuster possesses will guarantee that he gets at least one more shot at establishing himself at NRL level.

"There'll be interest because you know what he can do? He can set up tries," Fittler said.

"Not everyone can set up tries. At the end of the day no matter how hard you work, you still need the ability to score a try and that's what he brings. He just hasn't been consistent in all the other parts."

The decision by Manly to let Schuster go follows months of angst at Brookvale over the young talent's ongoing fitness.

The 22-year-old prodigy has previously been accused of failing to keep himself in shape to compete at NRL level.

At the end of last season he opted out of the Pacific Championships with Samoa so he could focus on getting up to speed for Manly.

But Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold hasn't picked him once this season, and now he's been told to find a new home.

Schuster made his NRL debut in 2020 but it wasn't until 2021 that he became a regular member of the team.

He spent that year playing in the backrow, while dabbling in the halves.

Last year he started 14 games at five-eighth but that position has now been assumed by gun recruit Luke Brooks.

This season Schuster has been playing for Blacktown Workers in the NSW Cup.