Disgruntled Knights centre Jesse Ramien has almost certainly played his last game for the club after being offered a release from his contract with CEO Phil Gardner declaring: "If he doesn't want to be here, we don't want him."
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Only a matter of days after Ramien was axed from the side for tomorrow's clash against Manly, Knights coach Nathan Brown told him he was free to officially negotiate with rival clubs and walk away from the final year of his contract in Newcastle.
It follows constant speculation behind the scenes that, privately, Ramien wanted out after a less-than-inspiring debut season in Newcastle that has produced only rare glimpses of the 22-year-old's potential.
It's expected there will be no shortage of clubs queuing up for his services next season.
Considered one of the NRL's brightest centre prospects after a breakout season with the Sharks last year, Ramien's problems in Newcastle initially stemmed from being starved of the football earlier this year when Kalyn Ponga started the season at five-eighth.
A right centre, his opportunities were few and far between early on because of the Knights' left-sided attack featuring Ponga and halfback Mitchell Pearce.
Touted as a potential Blues' State of Origin chance before a ball was kicked, by the time the rep season rolled around, he had slipped off Brad Fittler's radar.
At the time, he was also dealing with issues around his management and suggestions he could be earning far more than his $250,000 contract with Newcastle if he was at another club.
Gardner told the Newcastle Herald the Knights and coach Brown had given Ramien every opportunity to become a valued member of the club but questioned his commitment to the cause.
"He's obviously got talent, you can see it in him," Gardner said. "If he really wanted to put his head down and be part of the club, he'd be good. But the way he has performed, that's not the case.
"Sometimes, it's not the right fit but he's got to come to that conclusion himself. He can either knuckle down here and show us all what he's got or he can decide it's not for him and he can go.
"The ball is in his court. The bottom line is if he doesn't want to be here, we don't want him. It's that simple. You either want to play for the club or you don't."
"We want the right people here at the club. It's all about having people here who want to bleed red and blue and if they don't want to do that, we'd rather not have them.
"If Jesse doesn't want to be here, the best outcome for him and the best outcome for us is to part ways."
Gardner did not want to discuss the speculation that rival NRL clubs have been circling Ramien for quite some time.
"Technically, his agent should not have been shopping him around if that is indeed what he was doing but we have now given him permission to do that after Nathan spoke to Jesse," he said.
"But the fact his management got on the front foot almost immediately to release it publicly after Jesse was told of his options probably tells you the story of where it all sits."
READ MORE: Newcastle Knights
A big beneficiary of Ramien's impending departure will undoubtedly be off-contract centre Hymel Hunt, who the club has baulked at re-signing because of salary cap restraints.
Gardner said if Ramien is officially released, the club will step up negotiations with Hunt and also go to the market for a replacement outside back.
"Absolutely, if he goes, that will open up a position for an outside back for us for next year," he said.
"We've got Hymel to re-sign and the long-term future for the Knights in the outside backs department with the kids we have coming through is pretty strong. But we'd be still looking to bring someone else in."
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