BREAKING NEWS: Manly Sea lost another major star

Rabbitohs apparently have their eyes on a rival team forward.

He was rumored to be moving to the Wests Tigers.
Sean Keppie, a forward with the Manly Sea Eagles, is reportedly a target for the South Sydney Rabbitohs for the 2024 campaign.

The Rabbitohs will be happy to see representative playmaker Jack Wighton join them for the upcoming campaign, but they will be without the quintet of Jed Cartwright, Liam Knight (who left for the Bulldogs in the midst of the current campaign), Hame Sele, and Blake Taaffe.

After falling short of the top eight, they are looking to strengthen their forward stocks and have identified a 25-year-old Sea Eagles player as a prospective candidate.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Rabbitohs club representatives have already begun speaking with Manly Sea Eagles about Sean Keppie.

Currently under contract with the Rabbitohs through the end of the 2026 season, Keppie could be released by the Sea Eagles in order to make room in their pay cap.

This is because the team recently signed Luke Brooks, Jaxson Paulo, Tommy Talau, and Aitasi James, and they also signed lucrative extension deals with Josh Schuter and Haumole Olakau’atu.

Keppie was allegedly given permission to contact rival teams last month, and he was connected to the Wests Tigers in relation to a player trade with Alex Twal.

Given that Keppie has spent a large amount of time this season in either the starting front row or lock position and is signed with the Sea Eagles, the reported decision by those organizations is unexpected.

Since his debut in 2019, Keppie has appeared in 79 games for the Sea Eagles.

Sea Eagles CEO Tony Mestrov remarked in a club release at the time of his renewal, “Sean has undoubtedly worked hard and is becoming a natural leader of our pack.

We are delighted to have him here for the long term since he still has his greatest years as a prop ahead of him.

Sean is also well-liked for his sincere efforts on behalf of the community, which have led to him being the club’s nominee for the Ken Stephen Medal for the past two years.