Bunnies face nervous wait as fresh club joins bidding war

South Sydney's hopes of retaining star forward Keaon Koloamatangi have taken yet another blow, with another rival NRL club entering the fray.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the in-demand prop has been offered a four-year contract worth an estimated $4 million to join the Eels for 2027 and beyond.

Parramatta have money to spend after the recent departure of Zac Lomax and bringing Koloamatangi into the fold could catapult them further into premiership contention.

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Koloamatangi has met with coach Jason Ryles and other club officials to discuss a move.

The 27-year-old has also been linked with St George Illawarra, who could table a deal worth $5 million over five seasons to lure the representative front-rower to the club.

Shane Flanagan has made no secret of the Dragons' desire to sign a marquee middle forward to bolster the side's pack and Koloamatangi would certainly fit the bill, fresh off his impressive debut for Australia during the year-end Ashes series.

While his options are beginning to stack up, Souths are still hopeful of keeping the local junior in the cardinal and myrtle long-term.

"Yeah, definitely. He's a Souths junior, played the majority of his childhood career at Mascot," veteran five-eighth Cody Walker said on Wednesday.

"I'm sure everyone at the club is doing everything they can to keep him here.

"We as a playing group want to keep him, he's done a fantastic job for us over the years, probably been in the top three or four players at our club last season.

"He's been awesome."

The other club monitoring Koloamatangi's situation is the Roosters, while the Perth Bears enquired about signing the prop but were told he wants to stay in Sydney.

He has played 126 first grade games for the Bunnies since his debut in 2020, while also representing NSW once, making 10 appearances for Tonga and three for Australia.

Parramatta's move to sign the Kangaroos star comes after confirmation of a fresh deal for young fullback Isaiah Iongi this week, keeping him at the club until 2030.