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The Sydney Roosters have shut the door on a bid for veteran prop Siosiua Taukeiaho to rejoin the club
Tongan Test star Siosiua Taukeiaho’s shock return to the Roosters has collapsed after the Bondi glamour club baulked at his $500,000 asking price.
Taukeiaho had been in secret talks with Roosters powerbrokers in recent weeks as coach Trent Robinson looked for a replacement for veteran enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, who has joined English club Hull KR.
The negotiations were so advanced that the parties discussed Taukeiaho undergoing a medical to ensure the prop was fully fit after an injury-plagued two-year stint with French club Catalans Dragons.
Taukeiaho developed into one of the code’s best front-rowers at the Roosters during an eight-season tenure that netted 168 first-grade games and back-to-back premiership rings in 2018-19.
The Roosters were open to a Taukeiaho comeback to provide some experience to a pack that will lose 316-game legend Waerea-Hargreaves and Bulldogs recruit Sitili Tupouniua next season.
But the parties hit a financial hurdle and were unable to agree terms, with the Roosters lacking the salary-cap space to meet Taukeiaho’s asking price.
Taukeiaho’s only hope of a Roosters lifeline is if the 32-year-old is prepared to accept a reduced salary, but that appears unlikely.
It is the latest setback in a series of contract dead-ends for Taukeiaho, who remains in limbo and could be forced into early retirement after struggling to strike a deal thus far for an NRL return.
Taukeiaho had agreed terms on a two-year contract with the Bulldogs last season, only for the deal to fall through when he failed a medical due to a foot injury that restricted him to 10 games at Catalans.
Tongan Test star Siosiua Taukeiaho’s shock return to the Roosters has collapsed after the Bondi glamour club baulked at his $500,000 asking price.
Taukeiaho had been in secret talks with Roosters powerbrokers in recent weeks as coach Trent Robinson looked for a replacement for veteran enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, who has joined English club Hull KR.
The negotiations were so advanced that the parties discussed Taukeiaho undergoing a medical to ensure the prop was fully fit after an injury-plagued two-year stint with French club Catalans Dragons.
Taukeiaho developed into one of the code’s best front-rowers at the Roosters during an eight-season tenure that netted 168 first-grade games and back-to-back premiership rings in 2018-19.
The Roosters were open to a Taukeiaho comeback to provide some experience to a pack that will lose 316-game legend Waerea-Hargreaves and Bulldogs recruit Sitili Tupouniua next season.
But the parties hit a financial hurdle and were unable to agree terms, with the Roosters lacking the salary-cap space to meet Taukeiaho’s asking price.
Taukeiaho’s only hope of a Roosters lifeline is if the 32-year-old is prepared to accept a reduced salary, but that appears unlikely.
It is the latest setback in a series of contract dead-ends for Taukeiaho, who remains in limbo and could be forced into early retirement after struggling to strike a deal thus far for an NRL return.
Taukeiaho had agreed terms on a two-year contract with the Bulldogs last season, only for the deal to fall through when he failed a medical due to a foot injury that restricted him to 10 games at Catalans.
