Wallabies squad member Curtis Rona in talks with NRL clubs with future of Western Force unclear

HAVING quit the NRL last year to play union, Curtis Rona could be on the way back to league as the ARU’s plans to cut the Western Force heats up this week.

NEW Wallabies squad member Curtis Rona has confirmed he is in talks with NRL clubs about a return to league as the future of the Western Force remains on a knife edge.

The ARU heads to arbitration with WA Rugby on Monday in a bid to remove the Perth franchise from the Super Rugby competition, a move that would negate the two-year deal Rona signed with the club after defecting from the Canterbury Bulldogs.

It’s believed three NRL clubs are in talks with Rona about returning in 2018.

But 25-year-old Rona, who was selected by coach Michael Cheika for the Wallabies’ training camp in Newcastle this week, putting him in line for international selection this year, is now in a difficult situation.

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“Obviously with the complications that have gone on, you always have to have a plan B,” Rona told the Sunday Telegraph.

“It is in my best interests to stay here and play, and be a quality rugby union player, but when things are going on you’ve got to make decisions.

Curtis Rona is keeping his options open as uncertainty over the future of the Western Force continues.

“That’s what my manager is there for, to sort out my future and what’s going to be best for me and give my family security.”

Pressed on whether he’s more likely to return to league or join a rival Super franchise if the Force fold, Rona said: “That’s a hard one, I don’t really know what’s going to happen, I’m just playing it week by week, you hear different speculation every week and it always chops and changes.

“To be honest, I’m here now and just focusing on this camp and getting myself in the best shape to put my hand up for the Wallabies.

“Of course there is a lot of stress and pressure on me now to make a decision because if you’re in a good environment like I am now, it’s a lot harder to walk away from that situation.

“We’re just taking it each day at the Force and what could happen there, it’s just very unfortunate it hasn’t been sorted out earlier.”

Rona and wife Jacinta took the deal with the Force so she could be closer to her family in Perth. But if a move is required, she will support Rona.

“We spoke about it countless nights, she understands fully the situation that we’re in and she’s really comprehended the whole reasoning for us coming back and she was grateful for that,” he said.

“She said ‘I’m grateful to be here for eight months or the next couple of years’. She’s thankful that she’s had that time at home with the family.

“Everyone is affected by it one way or another, but at the end of the day it’s the job you do and you only have a short career so if you have to live somewhere else for a few years so be it.

“You need to take the opportunities that come your way, I think I’ve been doing that.”

Rona echoed the frustrations of his Force teammates, who’ve been kept in the dark for months as the ARU has fumbled its way through the process of cutting one team.

“It’s been very up and down, very frustrating with what’s going on and the decisions the ARU have to make - I just wish the decision was made earlier,” Rona said.

“It’s still dragging out now.

“I’m pretty confident that the team will be in the Super Rugby competition next year.

Curtis Rona in NRL action for the Canterbury Bulldogs last year.

“It’s a bit unfortunate that one team has to go, but that’s the way things go in this business.”

The Force exceeded expectation to finish second in the Australian conference, and Rona has exceeded expectation by earning a call-up to a Wallabies camp just five months after playing his first Super Rugby game.

“I was very surprised, being my first year I didn’t think too much of it, I thought just learning the game would be the best thing for me,” Rona said.

“Once I found out I was gobsmacked, I had so much support from friends and family.

“One hundred per cent, I think I’m ready to play at that level.

“If I get that opportunity I will have to rise to it. That’s what you’re here for, to be the best player in the country and the best that you can.

“That’s what I want to do, when I get the opportunity I want to show people that I can play rugby.”