Josh Schuster reportedly meets with NRL team after ugly $1 million exit from Manly Sea Eagles

Wayne Bennett is reportedly considering bringing Josh Schuster to the Rabbitohs for next season. The talented back-rower has been in limbo since accepting a $1 million severance package from the Sea Eagles but is reportedly seeking an NRL deal for next season after getting himself mentally and physically better in his time away from the game.

Manly cut ties with Schuster despite the player only last year signing a three-year extension worth around $800,000 a season. Despite bursting onto the scene as one of the game's hottest prospects in 2020 he never hit the heights Manly had hoped.

Schuster was dumped to reserve grade in 2023 after some lacklustre displays, before returning to the first-grade side and signing his lucrative extension. There were high hopes around the mercurial talent heading into 2024 but Schuster had a pre-season to forget. He came down with Chickenpox in December and then suffered a spiral fracture in his finger when he returned in the new year.

Schuster was also battling a calf strain that saw the forward left out of the Manly travelling party that kicked off the NRL season against South Sydney in Las Vegas. He then came under fire for not taking training and his fitness seriously and didn't play a single minute of first-grade football in 2024, with Manly opting to cut him loose in April.

Josh Schuster linked with move to South Sydney Rabbitohs

Since then the 23-year-old has chosen to take the rest of the season off to get himself into the best physical and mental shape for an NRL comeback. And he may get just that under master coach Bennett.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Bennett is looking at bringing the back-rower to Souths next season, with Schuster’s manager meeting with Rabbitohs officials this week to talk about a potential move. The former Manly star revealed in May following his departure from the Sea Eagles that he is willing to do what it takes to get back to the top of the NRL.

"I’m a lot happier, mentally I’m in a better headspace. When I’m at my fittest and happiest, that’s when I start playing my best footy. If anything, I can’t wait to be back and prove to myself I can do it," Schuster told the SMH. “I want to earn my teammates’ respect, putting my head down and working hard. That’s as simple as it gets. No Origin, nothing like that. I just want to earn my teammates’ trust and respect.”

Wayne Bennett overseeing the Rabbitohs' roster overhaul

Schuster would be somewhat of an X-factor for the Rabbitohs and could be utilised as a back-rower or even as a potential halves partner for new recruits Lewis Dodd or Jamie Humphries. Bennett is expected to lead a Rabbitohs roster overhaul as the iconic NRL club looks to build towards a premiership. And Souths are already set to look like a completely different side in 2025.

Dolphins back rower Euan Aitken signed on to join his Dolphins coach at Redfern next season earlier this week, while a new look halves pairing is almost guaranteed with Dodd, Humpries and Cody Walker set to compete for two spots.

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But there are also plenty of stars making way. Damien Cook will leave for the Dragons at the end of the season, while halfback Lachlan Ilias has been told he can look elsewhere. While Michael Chee Kam has been linked with a return to Manly, Taane Milne is without a deal for next season and Tom Burgess has agreed to join Super League side Huddersfield.