MANLY’S salary cap saga will drag on even longer after they were granted a third extension to respond to an NRL breach notice.

The Sea Eagles were on Monday expected to enter their formal response to preliminary findings of potential cap breaches during the past five seasons.

That deadline has been pushed back to the end of this week after an NRL spokesman confirmed the club had requested more time.

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Round 19

It’s the third time the Sea Eagles have done so. They originally asked if the five-day window could be extended to the end of January when the breach was handed down on December 11.

The response was postponed again last week to Monday before the latest request. It’s not uncommon for the NRL to grant extensions in the case of serious matters. It’s understood they prefer to give clubs the time they require to make a full response.

At the time of the original breach notice, the NRL threatened a significant fine on the club and a potential adjustment of their salary cap for 2018.

Manly have long denied any wrongdoing and chairman Scott Penn claimed last week the matters were “really technicality issues”.

Regardless, the drama appears to have already hurt the club after former NSW Origin halfback Trent Hodkinson penned a one-year deal with Cronulla from Newcastle on Monday.

Hodkinson had been targeted by Manly for a possible return to partner Daly Cherry-Evans in the halves following the departure of Blake Green.

It means rookie Lachlan Croker will now likely fill the No.6 jersey, while former Sydney Rooster Jackson Hastings remains another option.