The agent whose players’ moves helped dismantle the Wests Tigers’ roster seven years ago is on the verge of adding Jahream Bula to his list of clients alongside Lachlan Galvin.
A day after this masthead’s revelation that incoming superstar recruit Jarome Luai has player options in the final three years of his five-year contract, the Tigers are now bracing for one of their brightest young talents to join the Isaac Moses stable.
Moses and the Wests Tigers don’t see eye-to-eye and tension is already high due to a standoff involving another Moses client, John Bateman. Complicating matters further is the situation with Galvin, following multiple requests from his agent Moses for a release during the past 12 months.
The young fullback has been on the lookout for a new agent after his former manager, Liam Ayoub, recently accepted a role with the Canterbury Bulldogs in the club’s recruitment department.
As reported by this masthead in October last year, Bula has a mutual option in his contract for the 2027 season. If the Tigers decide to exercise the option, he will play the 2027 season on a salary of $900,000. If the Tigers decide against retaining Bula at that price, Bula has the opportunity of taking up a player option at $800,000.
Moses, however, will not earn any income from a contract negotiated by another agent and would only earn a percentage of Bula’s pay if he were to negotiate a new contract with the Tigers or a rival club. That conversation will have to occur some time in 2026, which happens to be both Luai and Galvin’s final year on contract.
Jahream Bula is set to join the stable of powerful player agent Isaac Moses.Credit: Getty
The Tigers have met with Galvin’s family and are preparing to sit down in the new year to discuss the possibility of a long-term extension. Moses’ involvement is a hurdle the Tigers will have to overcome.
Moses’ most significant previous involvement with the Tigers was overseeing negotiations for the club’s “big four” stars in 2017, when James Tedesco departed for the Sydney Roosters, Aaron Woods linking with the Bulldogs and Mitchell Moses agitated for an early release to join Parramatta. Luke Brooks was the only member of the quartet to remain at the Tigers.
Bateman is unwanted at Concord following a heated argument with coach Benji Marshall over what the Englishman believed was improper treatment following a loss to South Sydney last season.
Bateman took exception to a post-match dressing down from Marshall and confronted the coach about it at training in the ensuing days.
Wests Tigers forward John Bateman.Credit: Getty Images
The spat culminated in Bateman departing the club for a stint in the Super League with Warrington for the remainder of the 2024 season, on the condition the Tigers committed to uphold the 2025 and 2026 seasons of his contract.
The Tigers have offered to pay up to $350,000 of his $650,000-a-season contract for Bateman to play elsewhere.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are deep in negotiations to lure him to the club in Wayne Bennett’s first year back after a stint at the Dolphins.
He has also previously overseen the contracts of the likes Tommy Talau, Adam Blair, Matt Lodge and David Klemmer at the club.
Moses also represents young Tigers player Brandon Tumeth, who recently had an official warning revoked over preseason fitness standards.
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