Sport Confidential: Wests Tigers confirm interest in Warriors veteran Shaun Johnson
A coach has confirmed his club’s interest in an ageing star who has enjoyed a career rennaisance. Check out the latest NRL news in Sport Confidential.
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Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens has confirmed his club is interested in securing Warriors veteran Shaun Johnson.
The Tigers have identified Johnson as a potential stop-gap option for the club. The deal would throw up question marks regarding Luke Brooks’ long-term future at the club.
“Shaun Johnson has been discussed because we lost Adam Doueihi,” Sheens said. “We’re down to two halfbacks – we’re not talking about this year. I don’t think Adam will play much next year. We are looking for a short-term fix.
The Tigers have made it known they want a controlling half having missed out on the likes of Mitchell Moses and Mitchell Pearce in recent weeks.
That has led to the unexpected interest in landing Johnson. Discussions have occurred between the parties with Johnson facing an uncertain future at the Warriors.
After a poor season last year there was little chance that Johnson would have been at the Warriors beyond this year.
But his stellar start to this season now has the Warriors reconsidering their position. He could earn about $700,000 if he returns to Australia.
One of the issues will be the second season of the deal. Johnson would be reluctant to relocate his young family to Australia for just one year.
Whether the Tigers would be keen on a second season or the parties discuss a potential option for 2025 remains to be seen.
It is also unclear if the Tigers shake-up in recruitment this week will change the negotiations.
If Johnson opts to join the Tigers he would reunite with Benji Marshall – after he made his Kiwi debut playing in the halves with Marshall. Johnson’s career has followed a similar trajectory to that of Tigers coach in waiting Marshall with both transforming from carefree, attacking superstars to controlling halves. What all this means for Brooks is unclear. Brooks, who produced his best performance this season against Penrith on Saturday, is still awaiting word from the club about his future.
The injured Doueihi is the only half the Tigers have on their books next season with Brandon Wakeham also a free agent.
BULLDOGS FACE BATTLE TO KEEP YOUNG GUN
Bulldogs centre Jake Averillo is backing up from one of the games of his life and the timing couldn’t be better.
Averillo is off contract at the end of the year and his management are now armed with a career-defining game in their arsenal as they prepare to step up talks with Bulldogs officials over a new deal.
The sense is that Averillo wants to stay. He is a Bulldogs junior and has been given a chance by coach Cameron Ciraldo to bed down a spot in the centres.
To his credit, he has taken it with both hands — he scored two tries, busted seven tackles and ran for more than 200 metres against St George Illawarra last weekend.
The ripple effect of that performance has been that his list of admirers across the NRL has continued to grow.
The Dragons were among them earlier in the season — they approached the Bulldogs about a potential release for this season. The Bulldogs said no, an indication of how highly they rate the 22-year-old.
All in all, it means the Bulldogs are facing a battle to keep him and just to compound matters, Averillo isn’t the only Bulldogs centre with his future in limbo.
Teenager Paul Alamoti shares the same management as Averillo and is coming to the end of a lucrative contract that paid him largely on promise. He is now starting to make a return on the investment, having made a big impression over the opening two months of the NRL season and putting himself in contention for rookie of the year honours.
The Bulldogs are believed to be keen to keep both players but it won’t be easy. The club has already spent up big on Stephen Crichton for next season with a view to playing him at fullback, although he could also slot in the centres if required.
FORMER 9 BOSS UNLOADS ON NRL, RLPA IN EMAIL TO CLUBS
Former Nine boss Brett Clegg was hired by the NRL to negotiate a way through the fraught collective bargaining talks between head office and the players union.
It seems even he has become frustrated by a process that has now gone well beyond the ridiculous. Clegg sent an email which was shared with club bosses earlier this week in which he vented at the painstaking progress of negotiations between the NRL and the Rugby League Players Association.
The old collective bargaining agreement expired nearly six months ago yet the new deal continues to be stalled by arguments over what many consider to be trivial items.
The process took another hit recently when RLPA chair Deidre Anderson, who took up the running with ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys, headed overseas.
Further delays are expected to follow as V’landys and NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo travel to America to step up their bid to open next season in Las Vegas.
With no end in sight, Clegg let loose in an email to clubs.
“The hours that I have contributed to this discussion are a great more than I or anyone expected when I signed on,” Clegg wrote.
“Despite repeated bouts of (being) over it, I have stayed the course and I respect the people involved….
“You should be rightly disappointed that there is no agreement reached after such a long period. Yet a pause for a few weeks may be a good thing if we can hold ourselves and each other to account, and regroup in May. ”
Sport Confidential understands the email prompted a testy exchange between key figures at the NRL and RLPA.
WESTS TIGERS TEMPTED BY SJ
Wests Tigers are considering making a shock play for Kiwi veteran Shaun Johnson in a move which would throw up question marks surrounding Luke Brooks’ future at the club.
That has led to the unexpected interest in landing Johnson. Discussions have occurred between the parties with Johnson facing an uncertain future at the Warriors.
After a poor season last year there was little chance that Johnson would have been at the Warriors beyond this year.
But his stellar start to this season now has the Warriors reconsidering their position. He could earn about $700,000 if he returns to Australia.
One of the issues will be the second season of the deal. Johnson would be reluctant to relocate his young family to Australia for just one year.
Whether the Tigers would be keen on a second season or the parties discuss a potential option for 2025 remains to be seen.
It is also unclear if the Tigers shake-up in recruitment this week will change the negotiations.
The Tigers are after a short-term fix in time for some of their young halves to be ready for first grade. Johnson is the best experienced player on the market and at 32 has been rejuvenated this year.
There were calls for him to retire last year after a poor return to the Warriors after three seasons at Cronulla. He has thrived living back at home.
The Warriors are yet to open any meaningful dialogue but have not ruled out extending Johnson’s career. They do however have high hopes for Luke Metcalf and Ronald Volkman while Dylan Walker and Te Maire Martin are also contracted and more than capable of playing in the halves.
If Johnson opts to join the Tigers he would reunite with Benji Marshall – after he made his Kiwi debut playing in the halves with Marshall. Johnson’s career has followed a similar trajectory to that of Tigers coach in waiting Marshall with both transforming from carefree, attacking superstars to controlling halves.
Chad Townsend is another experienced playmaker but he has another 12 months to run on his deal with North Queensland. The Tigers will no doubt be among the clubs keeping an eye on Ben Hunt’s situation at the Dragons.
The St George Illawarra skipper appears certain to spend some time at hooker this weekend, a switch that is likely to test his patience with the club given he is already frustrated over the treatment of coach Anthony Griffin.
While Hunt has played representative football at hooker, he has always considered himself a halfback at club level. Hunt has also made no secret of his support for Griffin, who is expected to be moved on at season’s end.
It could prompt the likes of the Tigers and potentially the Bulldogs to test the resolve of the Dragons to hold onto Hunt, who has two more years on his contract at the Dragons
What all this means for Brooks is unclear. Brooks, who produced his best performance this season against Penrith on Saturday, is still awaiting word from the club about his future.
The injured Adam Doueihi is the only half the Tigers have on their books next season with Brandon Wakeham also a free agent.
FLASHBACK
Ricky Stuart was locked in a war of words with Phil Gould after Stuart labelled Gould “weak” on this day 15 years ago. Stuart felt Gould was trying to destabilise Australia’s Centenary Test against New Zealand to settle a personal agenda. Gould had written a newspaper column the day before where he inferred Stuart has a problem with Test halfback Johnathan Thurston. “I believe he has also tried to destabilise my team at the Sharks with his constant agendas, but they won’t — and nor will the Australian team — be destabilised by a weak individual,” Stuart said.
HADLEY HELPS CLUB SWITCH
Media giant Ray Hadley has revealed the key role he played in Scott Fulton’s move to the Wests Tigers. Hadley, who has had a long and loyal relationship with the Fulton family, was firmly in Scott Fulton’s corner when Tigers chair Lee Hagipantelis called for a character reference.
“Obviously I have a long connection with Scott, dating back over 30 years,” Hadley told Sport Con.
“As a young boy he used to come with me to Harold Park Trots on Friday night and watch me call races in the broadcast box.
“His late father was my best mate and I assured him prior to his passing I would always look out for members of his family.
“Lee is a major sponsor of weekday program and we have a good relationship. When I became aware of Scott’s interest in the job at Wests Tigers, I spoke to Lee to offer my support and was told by Lee he’d been greatly impressed with Scott, who he’d already met with.”
Fulton, lauded for his work in cultivating his western Sydney contacts to strengthen the squad at Manly, has stepped into one of the hottest seats in rugby league as he joins to Tigers to work alongside coach Tim Sheens and coach-in-waiting Benji Marshall.
It is understood he has already spoken to Sheens and Marshall as he looks to hit the ground running on his arrival at Concord.
Fulton will also need to strike up a working relationship with head of football operations Warren McDonnell, who was in charge of recruitment for the top squad prior to Fulton’s arrival.
EDWARDS’ $3 MILLION PAY-DAY
Penrith has begun talks with Dylan Edwards over a $3 million contract extension that will keep him at the club for the foreseeable future.
Edwards has another year left on a deal that he signed some time ago. The Panthers fullback is paid less than $500,000 a season, making him arguably the best value for money player in the NRL.
The Panthers know they have a bargain on their hands. They also know that if Edwards hits the open market, he could go close to nudging the million-dollar mark.
They aren’t in a position to go that high - Penrith also needs to retain Jarome Luai and Liam Martin - but they may go close. The Panthers are expected to offer Edwards an extension for at least three seasons.
They could also sweeten the deal with an upgrade for next season if they can find some wriggle room in their salary cap.
Edwards is likely to see his salary increase to at least $850,000 a season and he could go north of $900,000 by the end of the deal, making the offer in the vicinity of $3 million once a potential upgrade is included for next season.
Based on what he has produced over the past two seasons, it’s the very least Edwards deserves.
DRAGON’S SEASON OVER
St George Illawarra’s Tyrell Fuimaono’s season is over after the Indigenous All-Star was forced to undergo a double hip reconstruction last month.
It is a similar procedure to what former teammate George Burgess underwent on one hip which enabled him to return to the field. At that stage Burgess was the first player to play NRL again after undertaking the major operation. He featured in four games last season at the Dragons before retiring.
Fuimaono, 26, is adamant the injury will not end his career but he faces a long road back to the top grade.
He had not been seen in first grade this year instead he tried to play through the injury in the NSW Cup after struggling in the pre-season. However, reserve grade became too much for him with Fuimaono playing in just two games before realising his body was starting to fail him. He has not played since round three.
Adding to Fuimaono’s angst is that he is off-contract at the end of the season. Despite the setbacks Fuimaono – who has featured in 66 top grade games since making his NRL debut in 2015 – has told those close to him that he wants to recover and give the NRL another crack.
The Dragons are working closely with him on his rehabilitation. Because Fuimaono has no plans on retiring the Dragons won’t be able to apply for salary cap relief or create a spot on their top 30 roster.
The Dragons are on the look-out for fullback/winger after being granted salary cap dispensation for Cody Ramsey after he was ruled out for the rest of the season with illness. The Dragons have about $350,000 to spend for the rest of the season.
DRAGONS TO HOLD FIRE ON HOOK
Don’t expect any drastic change at the Dragons in the short-term. The team head to Queensland on Saturday ahead of their Magic Round clash against the Tigers on Sunday. They will remain in Queensland before taking on the Cowboys in Townsville.
The Dragons then have a horror run of the Roosters, Dolphins, Penrith and South Sydney before the bye. Coach Anthony Griffin’s future will be well decided before the Dragons second break of the season.
CLUB PAY FARCE
The farcical nature of talks between the NRL and players union has been exposed amid revelations that clubs have been operatingunder different salary caps for the past six months.
Sport Confidential understands that as many as seven clubs have been paying their players under the old salary cap.
The remainder have opted to pay their players under the new cap, which was announced by the NRL prior to Christmas but isyet to be enshrined in a collective bargaining agreement.
The players union warned clubs to use the old number - $9.6 million - at the start of the year. The NRL urged the clubs touse the new number - $12.1 million.
As many as seven clubs are believed to be paying players at the old figure of . At some point, when a collective bargainingagreement is finally struck, the clubs using that old figure will be forced to pay their players back pay.
In the case of a player like Nathan Cleary, it could be worth six figures. The other issue is private health care. Under theproposed new agreement, it is expected to be picked up by the players.
However, clubs have continued to pay it while they await a new agreement being struck. It means when the NRL and union reacha deal, the players will be expected to reimburse the clubs for their private health pay dating back to November 1.
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