Central shape as the likely destination for NRL player Will Smith if he takes part in the Newcastle Rugby League competition this season.
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A move to the Butcher Boys, potentially two months after Smith last lined up for the Gold Coast Titans, has yet to be confirmed by the club or Newcastle RL officials.
However, coaches from the remaining nine first-grade teams and the Nelson Bay-based Northern Hawks said on Monday that Smith wasn't linked with them for the rest of 2022.
The versatile back was recently cleared to play Newcastle RL this season, but it remains unclear if he will feature in the closing four rounds or finals series.
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Smith, born in Newcastle and now 30 years of age, has played a combined 84 NRL games for the Panthers, Eels and Titans since debuting in 2014.
This included captaining the Eels against the Panthers in the last round of last season before helping Parramatta eliminate the Knights from the first week of finals.
He requested and was granted a release from his NRL contract by the Titans last month based on "compassionate grounds".
According to the Newcastle RL player points index system, Smith would be worth a top-ranked 20 points having made 20 or more appearances in the NRL or English Super League within the last five years.
Each club can have a maximum of 130 points on their books with 100 allowed in first grade on any match day.
Smith played juniors locally with Western Suburbs before progressing through the Knights' representative ranks from Harold Matthews and SG Ball to under 20s and NSW Cup.
Chairman of the Newcastle RL board, John Crooks, says if a deal eventuates Smith would be "more than welcome to play in our competition".
"That's the whole thing about the pathways that we've got," Crooks said.
"We want players to play their way through our competition, which Will has previously, and go and play NRL.
"Then they can always come back later and pass on the knowledge and skills that they've learnt while they've been in the NRL."
In recent seasons former NRL players such as Luke Walsh, Frank-Paul Nu'uausala, Brock Lamb, Dylan Phythian and Nathan Ross have joined Newcastle RL clubs.
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Josh Callinan
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
