Clint Gutherson’s tenure at Parramatta is over after the club granted the captain an immediate release from his final year at the Eels.
Gutherson has played his final game for the Eels and is on the verge of securing a three-year deal with the St George Illawarra Dragons just 24 hours after they agreed to a mutual termination of the contract with their captain Ben Hunt.
Gutherson is the second NRL club skipper in as many days to sever ties with his respective club after his management requested an immediate release from his contract on Wednesday afternoon.
The Eels held a board meeting on Wednesday night and agreed to grant the fullback his request to part ways effective immediately.
The Eels will not pay any part of his $875,000 salary with St George Illawarra indicating they were in a position to pay the fullback the value of his Parramatta deal.
Another club has also expressed interest but the Dragons are in the box seat to announce his deal as early as this week. The Dragons have also expressed interest in securing Gutherson in 2026 and 2027 on a lucrative contract.
Gutherson’s future has been up in the air for several months after new coach Jason Ryles informed him that he planned on moving the veteran out of his usual fullback role.
At first the Eels offered the position to Blaize Talagi but when he signed with the Panthers, Parramatta secured Dylan Edwards’ deputy Isaiah Iongi from Penrith as their No.1 for next year.
Gutherson, who was told that he would be used as a hooker/lock if he stayed at the Eels in 2025, is convinced he still has plenty to offer at fullback and the Dragons are keen to hand the 30-year-old the No.1 jersey next year.
It’s expected to see Tyrell Sloan shift to the wing to accommodate his arrival.
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“If it was to happen, Tyrell’s still got a big part,” Flanagan recently said.
“I think it’d be fantastic for Tyrell’s development to have someone like Gutho around. Tyrell could play on the wing. So if I need to have that conversation with Tyrell I will, but I haven’t as yet because it’s a little bit pie in the sky stuff at the moment.”
Gutherson will also come into consideration for the Dragons’ captaincy role that has been vacated by Hunt’s departure, but the frontrunner for the job is South Sydney recruit Damien Cook.
