Taniela Paseka has set his sights on being the long-term leader of Manly's pack with the front-rower on the verge of re-signing until the end of the 2029 NRL season.
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Paseka made his bench return from a broken thumb in Manly's 38-8 win over Gold Coast on Sunday, and is expected to start against the Sydney Roosters on Saturday night.
Manly have developed into one of the genuine threats in the competition off the back of three straight wins, with a victory this weekend able to take them into the top four.
Paseka will form a big part of that finals charge.
The 120kg prop has developed into Manly's most consistent front-rower in the past 18 months, after admitting at the start of last year he needed to realise his size.
AAP has been told a new deal is all but complete with an announcement possible in coming weeks, with Paseka's current deal up at the end of 2026.
The extension will keep Paseka at Manly until his 32nd birthday, and make the front-rower the only prop locked into any NRL club right through until 2029.
"I'd love to stay for the rest of my career," Paseka said.
"I love this club. I've debuted at this club, played 100 games and this club means a lot to me.
"If I can keep playing the way I'm playing then the next thing is being the pack leader.
"I'd love to take that role on.
"First you follow, and then you lead. So I'm just taking it slow at the moment, just doing my job and then hopefully I can slide into that leadership role."
Paseka's new deal comes as Manly quietly go about building one of the most stable rosters in the NRL under Anthony Seibold.
Winger Jason Saab was already locked in until 2026 when re-signed to 2029 earlier this year, while Haumole Olakau'atu was extended from 2025 to 2031 late last year.
Josh Aloiai and Nathan Brown have also been extended this year, with only Canberra and Penrith having more players locked in for 2026 and beyond.
"We've got a great set of players here and to keep them all together long-term, you just build on that," Paseka said.
"We've built on that since 2020.
"If we can keep those guys in key positions, I think that helps and the big goal is to win a comp. Hopefully (Seibold) signs a lot of the boys, I love everyone here."
Meanwhile Manly have confirmed winger Lehi Hopoate will miss a month with a facial fracture suffered in the win over Gold Coast.
Tolu Koula (knee) could return shortly after their round-22 bye, with Ben Trbojevic or rookie Clayton Faulalo likely to come into the backline on Saturday.
Australian Associated Press
