Nanai puts faith in Cowboys
JEREMIAH Nanai’s desire to win a premiership at the Cowboys was a key factor in his decision to sacrifice at least $600,000 and ink a lucrative deal to remain in North Queensland.
The Cowboys are closing in on a new contract for coach Todd Payten and they have struck another major retention blow with backrower Nanai, who has agreed terms on a four-year extension until the end of 2027.
It is understood Nanai’s new deal is worth $3.6m in total, still shy of the $4mplus the Queensland Origin and World Cup star could have pocketed had the 19year-old opted for the biggest offers on the market.
The teenager, who turns 20 on Saturday, fielded interest from five clubs, including the Dragons, Canberra and the Titans. One NRL rival offered Nanai a five-year package worth $800,000 for the first three seasons and $900,000 for the remaining two – a $4.2m bonanza.
But Nanai showed faith in Payten’s premiership vision in Townsville, with Cowboys football boss Micheal Luck hailing the Maroons ace as a key plank in the club’s quest for a second title after their breakthrough win in 2015.
“We are over the moon,” Luck said. “Todd is a good coach for Jeremiah and Steve Georgallis and Dean Young (assistant coach) have done a good job working on both sides of his game.
“I don’t think we were ever in a position to compete with some of the offers coming his way, but I didn’t feel we had to either.
“We came up with a deal that was fair to Jeremiah and his status in the game.
“He understands the system in place and the players he gets to play with here.
“We have plenty of guys locked in until the end of 2025 and some key pieces of our puzzle are with us for 2026 and 2027. Jeremiah knows that, he is comfortable with that and excited by that. We are looking forward to what he can achieve over the next few years.”
The New Zealand-born Nanai had an outstanding 2022 campaign, scoring 17 tries from 23 games to help propel the Cowboys to a shock top-four berth, in the process clinching maiden State of Origin and Australia jumpers in a dream season headlined by his silky skills and awesome aerial try-scoring power.
Nanai was the most sought-after young forward on the open market, but Luck was always confident the Cairns junior would stay loyal to the club that helped him hit the big league.
“It wasn’t a difficult negotiation,” he said. “The reason this club was set up was to keep local kids in North Queensland.”