The Newcastle Knights have been dealt a brutal blow ahead of the 2025 NRL season, with top target Jonah Pezet turning down a move north, despite Adam O’Brien‘s team pulling out all the stops to get the Storm young gun. O’Brien put Pezet at the top of his wish list and attempted to convince him to return to his former club after the young playmaker hit the NRL open market in November.
The Storm had earlier shut down the possibility of Pezet being loaned to the Knights for next season in the same way captain Harry Grant was to the Wests Tigers when he was Cameron Smith‘s understudy at Melbourne. Pezet was reportedly keen for more playing time and given he is currently stuck behind the representative halves pairing of Cameron Munster and at the Storm and Tyran Wishart the Knights saw an opportunity.
Pezet knocked back a contract extension with the Storm last month, a development that gave Newcastle hope that they could snatch up one of the NRL’s most exciting young talents. The Knights took Pezet out for dinner, which was also attended by Newcastle captain and superstar Kalyn Ponga. The representative fullback spoke to the young half at length and tried to convince him to return to the club where he played junior representative football.
Following the meeting, the Knights tabled a whopping $2.5 million four-year contract to the young half. But on Friday, it was revealed it wasn’t enough with Pezet, who is making his comeback from knee reconstruction, penning a long-term deal to remain at the Storm.
However, there has been a clause added to his new deal that will allow him to exit the club should Jahrome Hughes extend his time at Melbourne, according to News Corp. His deal will expire at the end of 2029 however Pezet may be free to leave earlier.
Hughes is contracted to Melbourne until the end of 2026. Should he agree to a deal beyond that period then Pezet will immediately become a free agent. However, the Storm may opt to go with Pezet at that time as Hughes will be 32 in 2026, while Pezet will have at least a decade of football still left in him, given the fact he will be just 23 in 2026.
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