Damien Cook has been linked to Newcastle in a shock development that, if talks progress, could give the Knights one of the NRL’s premier spine combinations, while the Tigers are ready lock up Luke Brooks.

All that and more in JAMES HOOPER's exclusive Summer Shorts colum.

Big bucks for Brooks

The Wests Tigers have tabled halfback Luke Brooks a $2.7 million three-year offer as the club looks to out-bid rival suitors poaching the local junior.

Round 20

But the events of the last 24 hours in relation to Gareth Widdop could mean the demand for halves becomes immense.

With Cooper Cronk set to retire from the Sydney Roosters and Widdop possibly looking at a return to the UK for 2020, playmakers are guaranteed to be in-demand.

Michael Maguire is keen to keep Brooks at the Tigers long-term. Source: AAP

New coach Michael Maguire has been open about his desire to keep Brooks at the club, with the Tigers believed to be prepared to push their offer to a four-year deal to secure his signature. The Sydney Roosters are an obvious alternative given Brooks is great mates with James Tedesco and Cronk will retire at the end of next season. But power brokers at the club are going a little cold on Brooks being the right replacement for Cronk.

GI positional switch?

GI thinking about what he’ll do NRL defences from fullback. Source: News Corp Australia

Could South Sydney superstar Greg Inglis be set for a return to the fullback role full-time at Redfern next season? It’s a very strong chance if Wayne Bennett arrives at the Rabbitohs prior to Christmas. Inglis returned to his destructive best playing left centre last season but is still regarded by many as the world’s best fullback now Billy Slater has retired. If Inglis does play fullback, it will allow the Rabbitohs to blood his eventual replacement into the NRL. The Bunnies have signed young gun Corey Allan, who was picked by Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga as a bolter in the Prime Minister’s XIII last month. Allan is a try-scoring fullback who the Bunnies are expected to blood on the wing or in the centres. Who better to learn from in the NRL than GI?

Now this would really get the Knights Cooking...

Would Damien Cook give the Knights the best spine in the NRL? Source: News Corp Australia

The Newcastle Knights recruitment drive over the past 18 months has been nothing short of phenomenal. And the Knights aren’t finished just yet. We keep hearing NSW and Australian hooker Damien Cook linked to Newcastle for 2020. The Knights have denied it but people keep pushing it. Could the link be NSW assistant coach and champion hooker Danny Buderus? Cook has immense respect for Buderus and enjoyed success working alongside him in the Blues Origin series victory this year. In the short-term, coach Nathan Brown is still keen on the idea of turning Dragons utility Kurt Mann into a hooker. The catch is St George Illawarra are holding firm on releasing Mann for now after going cold on Jarryd Hayne. The Dragons made an inquiry about the Knights releasing Shaun Kenny-Dowall as part of a swap deal, but Newcastle did not want to entertain the idea.

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New driver on The Bus

Wests Tigers coach Michael Maguire has wasted no time getting into the swing of things at the club’s Concord headquarters. And by all reports he’s been well-received by the Tigers playing group. The great news for the Tigers is Josh Reynolds is injury-free and setting himself for a big season. Maguire plans to draw on the rich history of Balmain and Wests by inviting a number of legends back into the Tigers fold. Champions like Steve Roach, Benny Elias, Noel Kelly and Tommy Raudonikis will all be welcomed.

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Two more years for Cam

Melbourne Storm brains trust of supercoach Craig Bellamy and football director Frank Ponissi returned from their annual overseas study trip last Friday. This year the hugely-successful duo spent time with Eddie Jones and the England Rugby Union in London, Real Madrid in Spain and top UK rugby club Saracens. The next big-ticket item for the Storm is getting a resolution on champion skipper Cameron Smith’s new contract. Smith will definitely be on deck with the Storm next season after enjoying the longest off-season break of his decorated career. And yes, it’s looking likely the champion no.9 is likely to play on in 2020 as well. Considering Smith will turn 36 in June next year, it’s a phenomenal achievement.

Are we there yet?

This situation has really dragged on. Source: Supplied

If, as predicted, Wayne Bennett is coaching the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Anthony Seibold is at the Broncos next year, there will also be some adjustments in the assistant coaching ranks at both clubs. Seibold intends to have assistant coach Peter Gentle and strength and conditioning coach Paul Devlin working alongside him at Red Hill. There was also a play to have Willie Peters shift to Brisbane as well but the Rabbitohs fought hard to retain him. Peters is highly-valued and well-liked at Redfern.

Sharks circling Johnson... but others in play

The noise around about the Cronulla Sharks at the moment is growing louder by the day. Rival clubs are privately asking the question how they can sign Shaun Johnson given the club’s dire financial predicament? The answer is they are under the salary cap for next year and the NRL grant means they can afford to pay their players. But in the bigger picture there is a growing concern about how the club will pay its bills.

The Parramatta Eels wasted no time trying to jump on the Shaun Johnson situation. We’ve been told the club contacted the Warriors to float a possible swap between Johnson and Corey Norman. The Warriors have since released Johnson, who is tipped to sign at the Sharks for longer than 12 months.