EXCLUSIVE: Andrew Johns suggests shock Super League sojourn for ousted Bulldogs halfback Toby Sexton before NRL return

League icon Andrew Johns says unwanted Bulldogs halfback Toby Sexton could be the inaugural No.7 for one of the NRL’s two new expansion teams.

And he’s advised the 24-year-old to head to England in the meantime to sharpen his skills and gain vital experience before returning to the world’s premier competition.

Sexton will be squeezed out of Belmore at season’s end following the signing of teen gun Lachlan Galvin, who is expected to take his position.

There has reportedly been little interest from other NRL clubs in signing the playmaker whose team sits atop the NRL ladder.

Johns was dumfounded at the lack of interest in Sexton’s signature.

“I can’t believe that, because there’s not many quality halves going around,” he told Wide World of Sports’ Immortal Behaviour.

“I watched Toby closely when he was at the Titans and I always thought there was a player there.

“For whatever reason some take longer to develop, and I think he’s really found his form at the Bulldogs.”

Johns suggested St George Illawarra could use Sexton, although the Dragons already have a glut of playmakers on their books for next year.

The Perth Bears will enter the NRL in 2027 and are yet to sign a player, while Papua New Guinea will also have a team in 2028.

Johns – who briefly played for Warrington in England’s Super League in 2005 – says Sexton could benefit from spending a season or two in the European competition.

“The Dragons could be a good fit… Perth, PNG. Whether he goes to Super League for a year, plays there,” Johns said.

“You look at Jackson Hastings, look at Brodie Croft, they went over and won the (Super League’s best and fairest) Man of Steel. It’s good footy over there, less pressure, they don’t scrutinise as much as you are in the NRL.

“That might be an option for Toby. He’s too good a player not to be signed.”

The other casualty from Canterbury’s Galvin signing looks set to be Reed Mahoney, with the veteran hooker reportedly told he can look elsewhere.

The Bulldogs have rising star Bailey Hayward eyeing the No.9 jersey, but Johns reckons the club is poised to pounce on young Tigers rake Tallyn Da Silva.

Da Silva is free to leave Concord and is sure to have several other NRL clubs chasing his services for next season.

“I think he would be a really good pick-up,” Johns said of Da Silva.

“He’s best mates with Lachie Galvin, so whether he’s looking to go to the Dogs, there is talk the Dogs want to move Reed Mahoney out.”

A Da Silva signing would give Canterbury arguably the best young spine in the competition, with Matt Burton holding a mortgage on the five-eighth spot.

Connor Tracey, 29, is an NRL journeyman but has gone to another level this year after being handed the fullback role by coach Cameron Ciraldo.

It will be a bittersweet October for the likes of Sexton and Mahoney if they are to win a premiership with the Dogs and then be forced out the door.