Melbourne Storm football boss Frank Ponissi has admitted that emerging utility Nicho Hynes may entertain leaving the club.
The fullback, who had five try assists against St George Illawarra on Sunday, has yet to sign on for 2022.
Hynes can play in both the one and six positions, and has had to battle for a starting spot with superstars Cameron Munster and Ryan Papenhuyzen, often relegating him to a role on the bench when the pair is fit.
As a result, clubs like North Queensland have expressed an interest in Hynes with the offer of a starting role.
Hynes was asked about his future following his best afield performance on Sunday.
“It’s unfortunate sometimes I have to fill in for injuries but I have been pretty vocal that I want to be a starter,” Hynes said.
“Whether it is with this club or it might have to be somewhere else, we will just have to wait and see.
“It’s good that I have been able to play a fair few games in a row in key positions, I am really enjoying it.”
Following Hynes’ comments, Ponissi was asked on Sportsday if he thought the 24-year-old would remain with the club.
“It’s a really tough one,” Ponissi said.
“He’s a player we really want to keep, he’s come through our feeder system here at the Sunshine Coast Falcons.
“He’s done a marvellous job, he can play a number of positions.
“But, the difficult part about it is that he plays positions where we’ve got guys like Cameron Munster, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Jahrome Hughes.
“It’s not just a salary cap point of view, but he can probably see himself being a starter. If everyone’s fit he’s competing against those players (in Melbourne).
“He’s really happy and he’s a very popular player, he’s a potential future leader, there’s no doubt about it.”
Ponissi revealed that the Storm were looking to get a clear answer over Hynes’ future in the next few weeks.
“We hope we can keep him, we’re hopeful, but over the next few weeks we’ll have discussions and see exactly where we are,” he added.
“Fingers crossed we can convince him to stay, he definitely wants to stay, but it’s just about where he sees his role in the team.”
The utility has also been linked with a move to the Broncos, who could sign him to form a new playmaking trio alongside Adam Reynolds and Kotoni Staggs.
With Broncos winger Xavier Coates headed to Melbourne, the Red Hill club could strike a double blow to the Victorian club by signing Hynes on top of already securing Brenko Lee's services from next season.