THE Newcastle Knights are in a race against the clock to re-sign NSW representatives Jacob Saifiti and Bradman Best after their State of Origin heroics on Wednesday night.
Best scored two tries in a memorable Origin debut and Saifiti provided some firepower off the bench as the Blues avoided a clean sweep with a 24-10 victory over Queensland at Accor Stadium.
Both players have one more season to run on their contracts with Newcastle, and as of November 1 they will officially be able to enter into negotiations with rival NRL clubs.
Knights football director Peter Parr said the best-case scenario would be to re-sign both players before they start exploring other options on the open market, but he admitted that might not be possible.
"I think both those guys would like to stay, and we certainly want them to stay, so that's a good starting point," Parr told the Newcastle Herald.
"Our intention is to re-sign them. But when we're in a position to put a competitive offer to them, that might take a little bit of time.
"We've got a bit to work to do from our end, with regards to our salary cap.
"But we'll be in dialogue with their agents and keeping them up to speed with where we're at."
Parr acknowledged there was "a real possibility" that both Best and Saifiti would effectively be free agents as of November 1, in which case they would appear certain to attract external interest.
But he said that did not necessarily mean they were likely to leave the Knights at the end of the 2024 season.
"Obviously our preference would be to re-sign them before they go to market," he said.
"But just because November 1 ticks over on the calendar doesn't automatically mean that players will sign for other clubs.
"It gives them an opportunity to test the market, obviously, but we'll still be doing everything in our power to keep them at the club."
Saifiti and Best are off-limits to rivals for another four months and, in the meantime, Parr is shoring up next season's roster.
His immediate priority is to re-sign another NSW representative, Tyson Frizell, and while he is confident of doing so, he said reports that the veteran back-rower had agreed to stay in Newcastle were "premature".
"My current priority is trying to make sure we've got the best possible roster for 2024, and then continuing that through until 2025," Parr said.
Knights coach Adam O'Brien said it was "vital" to retain 21-year-old Best and Saifiti, 27, both of whom grew up on the Central Coast and have played all their senior football with Newcastle.
"They're local blokes, they're performing well, they're both current Blues and they're vital to the experience of our squad," he said.
"But it's not my department."
Best's 2024 contract with Newcastle is understood to make him one of the highest-paid centres in the NRL.
Saifiti is believed to earn significantly less than his twin sibling Daniel, despite apparently overtaking him in the eyes of the NSW selectors.
Jacob has played in game three of the past two Origin series, while Daniel has not worn the sky-blue jersey since 2021.
O'Brien was hopeful both Best and Saifiti would back up after Origin to play in Friday night's clash with Wests Tigers at McDonald Jones Stadium.
But he has until an hour before kick-off to finalise his squad.
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