Veteran Manly Sea Eagles centre Steve Matai is poised to retire, despite having another year to run on his contract.
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Matai's management and the Sea Eagles have been negotiating a termination agreement and it's expected an official announcement is imminent.
The former Kiwi international will finish an illustrious career as a one-club man, making all of his 229 NRL appearances for the Sea Eagles. On several occasions he knocked back lucrative offers to return to his native New Zealand to play with the Warriors, but remained devoted to the Silvertails during an 11-season first-grade career.
Matai was a constant danger in attack, scoring 91 tries and setting up countless others during his time on the northern beaches. However, the former Kiwi international is perhaps best known for his punishing defence, earning a reputation as one of the hardest-hitting centres in the game.
The 32 year old won two premierships with Manly and was a regular for the Kiwis in his pomp, playing the last of his 10 Tests in 2010.
Matai's manager, Gavin Orr, said he and the club were "working through" the details of Matai's likely departure from the Sea Eagles.
Another long-serving Manly centre, Jamie Lyon, has also retired. It's likely that at least one of the voids will be filled by a Panther in the long term.
It's understood the Sea Eagles have their sights set on two Penrith backs, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Dean Whare, as potential replacements. While Penrith would like to keep them both, it's likely one of them may shift from the foot of the mountains given the number of quality young three-quarters on their books.
Both players are themselves New Zealand internationals, with Whare notching 26 NRL games during his previous stint at Manly.
There is also speculation that another Sea Eagles stalwart, Brett Stewart, has played his last game for Manly. Like Matai, Stewart missed the back end of Manly's premiership campaign through injury, with youngster Tom Trbojevic capably filling his No.1 jersey.
The Sea Eagles go into their 2017 campaign without several other key players including Jamie Buhrer, Josh Starling, Tim Moltzen, Tom Symonds, Siosia Vave, Liam Knight, Nathan Green and Blake Leary.
Their offseason signings include Storm pivot Blake Green, unwanted Knight Akuila Uate and former Bulldogs and Warriors forward Shaun Lane.
