Reuben Garrick has fast become one of the best outside backs in the competition.
It’s come out this week that he’s going to test the market on November 1st.
He has all the tools as well. Height, pace, agility. He also has goal-kicking, and is one of the best in the game at it.
He has 89 tries in 157 games to go with almost 500 goals and can play at either centre or wing with equal ability.
It’s little wonder, then, that the Manly Sea Eagles are keen on retaining his services beyond the end of 2026, when his contract expires.
But it’s also little wonder that Garrick is going to cost a pretty penny on his next deal, which, if it’s a long-term one, could well be his last. He will be 29 going on 30 by the time that contract starts in 2027.
So when reports broke recently that Garrick is likely to test the open market from November 1, it didn’t come as any great surprise.
But which clubs would genuinely want to enter the mix for him if he were to make the call and leave the Sea Eagles, where he has played all 157 of his first-grade games since leaving the Dragons’ pathways and debuting on the Northern Beaches in 2019?
The list is extensive, but here are the top candidates, in no particular order.
6. Perth Bears
The Bears are going to be linked with every decent player coming off-contract at the end of 2026 who is hitting free agency on November 1.
If Garrick is one of them, then we’d expect a sizeable offer to land on his manager’s desk in the early hours.
Whether Garrick is interested in moving across the country and playing in a team unlikely to contend for a premiership anytime soon remains to be seen, but he’d certainly win a payday by agreeing to make the shuffle.
Not too much more to be said here. Let’s move on to clubs already in the competition.
5. Canterbury Bulldogs
There are plenty of jokes made about the Bulldogs’ salary cap situation, but that would likely be the only factor that has the potential to stop the blue and whites from making a genuine play for Garrick.
As it stands, they have some big calls to make on the future direction of their squad, with Jacob Kiraz, Stephen Crichton and Bronson Xerri locked in beyond the end of 2026, but no calls made on Blake Wilson (off-contract end of 2025), or the back five trio of Marcelo Montoya, Enari Tuala and Connor Tracey (all off-contract end of 2026).
That leaves spots available, and if they want to shake things up by bringing in a player in the outside backs, Garrick will likely be the best of the market.
The salary cap problem could yet also be cleared up, with recent rumours suggesting they would entertain the release of Matt Burton to the Perth Bears if the new club make an approach, given Canterbury have signed Lachlan Galvin and will be attempting to promote young gun Mitchell Woods into their starting halves in the coming seasons.
4. Gold Coast Titans
The Titans are another club who could be about to go through a shake-up.
They are waiting to see which way deals for the likes of Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, David Fifita and Beau Fermor land, but if any of the trio departs – and it’s looking extremely likely – they are going to be dangerous on the open market with plenty of cash to splash around.
At the present time, Keano Kini and AJ Brimson are both signed through 2027, while the only other back-five capable players on the list are Jaylan De Groot and Jojo Fifita.
That means there are going to be spots available on the open market, and money to splash.
The Titans could do a lot worse than sign a goal-kicking, experienced outside back like Garrick.
3. Parramatta Eels
The Eels currently have Josh Addo-Carr, Richard Penisini, Will Penisini and Sean Russell off-contract at the end of 2026 out of the players who can shuffle into their back five.
You can almost certainly assume the contracted Bailey Simonsson won’t be there either, given he has already requested to head for the exit in 2026.
What the Eels do have that others don’t is money.
They have lost Dylan Brown for 2026, but, with the exception of signing dummy half Tallyn Da Silva and forward Jack de Belin, have not made any major moves on the transfer market.
That means they will be forward-paying salaries in 2026 and will likely be able to make a full-scale raid for 2027.
They may not need Reuben Garrick’s goal-kicking given Mitchell Moses is still at the club, but they do need attacking weapons to join Moses, and Garrick would bring that to the blue and gold in spades.
2. St George Illawarra Dragons
As it stands, the Dragons don’t have a single first-choice winger contracted for 2027.
With Chevy Stewart likely to sign on as the new fullback, that could push Clint Gutherson into the centres and Valentine Holmes out to the wing, but it’s certainly not set in stone.
They do have upcoming decisions to make on the likes of Nathan Lawson, Tyrell Sloan and Christian Tuipulotu, but whether any of these three players are still at the club in 2027 remains to be seen.
There is also the factor of Cody Ramsey’s likely impending return to first-grade after an 18-month absence due to a debilitating illness, followed by a NSW Cup return this year.
Garrick is a Dragons junior though, and this homecoming would make sense on so many levels.
Melbourne Storm captain Harry Grant has reportedly found himself on the radar of another club, less than three months away from being able to speak with rival teams from the beginning of November.
1. Sydney Roosters
The Roosters love a marquee signing.
They also still have money to play with following their mass exodus at the end of 2024.
The impending retirement of Daniel Tupou on the wing will need replacing, and while Garrick is predominantly a centre these days, his form on the wing is still as good as it ever has been.
He is a try-scoring, goal-kicking talent, and his abilities on the end of Sam Walker’s kicking game would be something to watch on a weekly basis.
Whether a winger is the priority or not remains to be seen, but replacing Tupou won’t come easily given his well-rounded game.
Discussion about this post