Former State of Origin and premiership-winning backrower Corey Parker believes David Fifita needs to have more of an impact to live up to his million-dollar price tag.
The call comes as Fifita could potentially be on the move from the Gold Coast Titans with NRL heavyweights in three-time premiers the Penrith Panthers and the Sydney Roosters among the clubs reportedly interested in his services from next season.
Fifita, 24, joined the Titans in 2021 on a $1m per season and had arguably his best season with the Titans in 2023 as he made his return to the Queensland State of Origin side.
Despite re-committing to the Gold Coast last season, Fifita has a clause in his contract which ne needs to trigger before Round 10 starts on Thursday or he will be free to sign elsewhere from 2025.
But Parker said Fifita needed to do more to deliver on his mega contract at the Titans.
“David Fifita has always been one of those players that when he was first picked at the Titans for a million dollars, if you are a million-dollar player you need to have a bearing on what happens on the scoreboard,” Parker said on SENQ Breakfast.
“I thought last season year was the most consistent season that we’ve seen but it looks like he might not be there much longer.”
Parker also said if Fifita left the Gold Coast it could open the door even more for Jahrome Hughes to return to Queensland – something he predicted on SENQ recently.
“There’s talk about Keiran Foran potentially looking at going on again next year, we’ll wait to see whether that comes to fruition or not,” he said.
“I did break on this show a couple of weeks ago about the fact that Jahrome Hughes may want to come home and start a family. That was somewhat put to bed but nothing’s been done on the other end of it.
“So if they’ve got a million dollars up their sleeve and there’s an opportunity for someone like Jahrome Hughes to go to the Titans, all of the sudden they’re a different looking football side.”
While Maroons great Cameron Smith said he could understand Fifita’s interest in joining a powerhouse club such as the Panthers or Roosters.
“If you’re looking at an opportunity where if I move clubs and one of those clubs is the Penrith Panthers, who are three-time premiers, and the Roosters, they’re going pretty well at the moment, they’re premiership threats and at the moment," he said.
“Let’s be honest, the Titans aren’t.”
Fifita is expected to make a decision on his future in the next 24-48 hours.