It is officially open season for unhappy Wests Tigers player Ryan Matterson after being granted permission by the joint venture NRL club to negotiate with rivals.

Barely a week after being granted leave from Tigers pre-season training, the disgruntled NSW State of Origin squad member is finally free to negotiate with other clubs.

Parramatta, Gold Coast and St George Illawarra are set to head the queue for his services.

Matterson is looking for a new home just one year into a three-season deal after a breakout 2019 with the Tigers, reportedly first raising the issue of a release with coach Michael Maguire three months ago.

There were alarm bells that Matterson had played his last game for the Tigers when the joint venture recently confirmed the Blues’ Origin prospect had been granted leave last week from pre-season training, for the rest of the year, due to “personal reasons”.

Matterson was reportedly on just $350,000 this year but proved himself arguably the club’s best performer as they fell just shy of a finals berth.

While the club has been accused of paying over-market value for talent over the past few seasons, Matterson was seen as a shrewd investment.

After coming to the Tigers from the Sydney Roosters, Matterson impressed enough to be brought into Blues camp as 18th man by coach Brad Fittler this year.

Despite finishing ninth and missing the finals for an eighth-straight year, the Tigers have continued training during the NRL playoffs. But recently, Matterson has been a no-show, earning the ire of Luke Lewis.

“You can’t just come out and have one good year,” Penrith and Cronulla great Lewis told Fox Sports’ NRL 360.

“He has to be professional about it and he has to continue to play the kind of football for the next two years to get the money that he wants.

“You can’t sign a deal and say ‘well, I had one good year and another club is willing to pay me more’ because I think that is not the right way to go about it and it is unprofessional as well.”