In-form Newcastle prop Jacob Saifiti is close to committing his future to the club but may be forced to wait for a bigger pay-day as the Knights battle salary cap constraints for next season.
Saifiti played a straight bat to questions about his playing future on Wednesday, saying negotiations have kicked off but "it's nothing too serious at the moment".
"Talks have started but I'm just worried about playing consistent footy and sort of leaving that to the manager to work out," he said.
But the Newcastle Herald understands a new deal is a lot closer to being finalised than the big prop is letting on with only the length of the contract a potential sticking point.
The Knights have been keen to negotiate a longer term deal but Saifiti may end up just recommitting for one or two more years and backing himself to land a bigger deal down the track.
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Knights CEO Phil Gardner did not want to comment on the negotiations but confirmed the bench prop is a "high priority".
"We'd like him here as long as possible but we'll see where it all lands," he said. "Deals are never done until they are done."
Saifiti, who debuted in the NRL alongside twin brother Daniel back in 2016 as a 19-year-old, made 39 appearances in his first two seasons in the top grade, shouldering a heavy load during the early stages of the club's rebuild under former coach Nathan Brown when the Knights were the competition easy-beats.
Injuries over the past two years restricted him to just 15 games but after a productive off-season under coach Adam O'Brien, his form off the bench this season has been outstanding.
While he has been touted as a potential target for St George Illawarra, Saifiti has told those close to him he won't be leaving Newcastle because he loves the city and the club and wants to keep playing alongside his brother, who is contracted until the end of 2022.
Asked his thoughts about remaining in Newcastle, Saifiti made his priorities pretty clear.
"It's pretty much my home now away from my home on the coast so I'd love to stay here - it would be great," he said.
Meanwhile, the odds of five-eighth Kurt Mann playing against Melbourne Storm tomorrow in Gosford have shortened considerably over the past few days.
Mann suffered an ankle injury in the closing minutes of his side's 34-18 win over the Canberra Raiders and there were initial fears of ligament damage. But the ankle has improved considerably since then and Mann trained on Wednesday.
"He did some running so barring another mishap, I'm now more than hopeful he will be right to play," coach O'Brien said.
"He's a tough kid but we'll see how he goes at the captain's run on Friday before we make a final decision."
Youngster Phoenix Crossland is in the squad on standby for Mann and will likely come onto the bench if the five-eighth is ruled out with Tex Hoy slotting into the halves alongside skipper Mitchell Pearce. There is some speculation Cooper Johns, the son of former Knights star Matthew Johns, could make his NRL debut against his father's former club at halfback but the player the Knights fear most is five-eighth Cameron Munster.
The Storm five-eighth has been easily their best player in the two rounds since the competition resumed and will assume even more responsibility following the injury to halfback Jahrome Hughes.
Jacob Saifiti has no doubts the challenge awaiting the Knights in Gosford is a big one.
"It's probably our biggest test to date," he said. "They are up the top of the ladder at the end of each year and they've been playing really good footy lately. They've got quality across the park."
The Knights prop said the team is not getting ahead of itself despite their unbeaten start to the season that includes a strong win over premiership fancies Canberra Raiders.
"It obviously gives us some confidence but we are not going to rest on that," he said. "It's up to us to be consistent and put it out every week."
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