Offer on the table: Brumbies make major moves to sign Wallabies star

The Canberra Times understands the club has made an offer to the Wallabies forward to stay in the capital through to the 2027 World Cup.

Hooper has been in high demand after a breakout 2023 season that saw him make his Test debut and emerge as one of the bright spots in a challenging international campaign.

Talks had been on hold as new Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt and high-performance boss Peter Horne ran their eyes over the country's top players before outlining a recruitment priority list.

Hooper has emerged as a key pillar in Australian rugby's future and conversations have progressed with the youngster's management in recent weeks.

With an offer on the table, the Brumbies are looking to conclude negotiations as quickly as possible and hope a deal will be finalised in the next fortnight.

Club officials are eager to avoid any distractions before Saturday's showdown with the Waratahs, but next week's bye will provide an opportunity to complete the process.

While Rugby Australia has moved to facilitate Hooper's contract offer, the Brumbies are still awaiting a green light to advance talks with off-contract backs Noah Lolesio and Corey Toole.

The latter has emerged as a genuine star in just two seasons of Super Rugby and has been tipped to make an instant impact in the Test arena.

Lolesio has flirted with rich international offers in the past two years and has returned home from a short-term stint in France a better player.

The flyhalf has shown impressive composure and game management skills while closing out a number of tight Brumbies victories this season.

International clubs are rapidly filling their squads for the upcoming northern hemisphere season and the Brumbies are increasingly confident Lolesio will remain in Canberra next year.

ACT officials are less optimistic Darcy Swain will re-sign for next season after the Western Force launched a bold bid to lure the lock to Perth. The Wallaby recently admitted he is yet to sign a contract with the Force but it appears likely he will depart the capital.

Lolesio will start at flyhalf for the seventh-straight game on Saturday with the Brumbies hoping for a big crowd at Canberra Stadium for the clash with the Waratahs.

The match comes a week after he kicked the winning penalty goal in last week's tense victory over the Queensland Reds and veteran prop James Slipper said Lolesio has played with renewed confidence this season.

"Everyone knows Noah is a quality player," Slipper said. "We've always known that down here at the Brumbies and his stint over in France has been good for him. He's come back with a lot of composure and late in the game he really drove the ship around.

"The pleasing thing for Noah is he nailed 100 per cent of his kicks. At the end of the day, that was probably the difference and for any five-eighth running a team, kicking's pretty important.

"The thing I like about Noah is he works hard but also keeps his head down and he's just going about his business this year and it's paying dividends on the field. We'll be around him again this weekend and hopefully he puts in another good shift."