Knights prop Jacob Saifiti has reaffirmed his twin brother Daniel's commitment to the club, saying he expects his sibling to finish up as a "one-club player".
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Daniel, who is contracted with Newcastle until the end of the 2026 season - one of only two players signed beyond 2025, the other being Kalyn Ponga - was recently named in a Sydney media report as a player the club might be willing to let go.
Knights coach Adam O'Brien has since rubbished the report, saying both Daniel and Bradman Best - the other player named in the original story - are part of his long-term plans.
Best also recently spoke about the speculation, saying he was keen to extend with the club, not move on.
Daniel Saifiti is yet to comment on the reports, but Jacob said his brother remained as committed as ever to the club and wanted to remain a Knight long term.
"Of course, that's the reason why he signed that long-term deal in the first place," Jacob said on Tuesday.
"He wants to remain a one-club player and I'm pretty sure it's going to work out that way."
One rival reported in recent weeks to have an interest in Daniel was Canterbury.
The speculation heightened late last week when Bulldogs general manager Phil Gould was spotted meeting with Knights football director Peter Parr at a New Lambton cafe.
Parr told the Newcastle Herald last week the meeting was just a "catch-up", but it certainly raised eyebrows in light of the recent reports.
Jacob, contracted to the end of 2024 himself, said as far as he was concerned the speculation about his brother and Best was just that.
"The club put that to bed pretty early," he said.
"They talked about it pretty early on.
"It obviously hit the media and the club came up to Daniel and reassured him that there was no talks there.
"It got knocked on the head pretty early."
Both the Saifitis were again overlooked this week by NSW for Origin II at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday week despite strong performances in Newcastle's 24-20 loss to Brisbane on Saturday.
Daniel made 179 metres from 17 runs in a 59-minute performance, while Jacob, who started from the bench, notched 147 metres from 14 runs over 38 minutes.
Jacob made an impressive Origin debut at the Brisbane venue in game three last year with the series on the line, while Daniel has made seven Blues appearances but not featured since 2021.
"I don't think our form has warranted it this year," Jacob said of again missing out.
"You look at the side they've picked, and obviously Junior [Paulo] and Payne [Haas] pick themselves.
"They went with Tevita [Pangai Junior] game one, he was playing unreal, and now Stefano [Utoikamanu]. He is a great young player. I've got big raps on him. So I wish those boys all the best."
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