Sydney Roosters’ cheeky bid for Knights backrower Joseph Tapine

SYDNEY Roosters have made inquiries to sign Joseph Tapine as injury cover for star forwards Boyd Cordner and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.

The new and the seasoned .... Veteran Newcastle Knight's forward Willie Mason with young second rower Joseph Tapine. Picture by Peter Lorimer.

SYDNEY Roosters have failed in an audacious bid to sign Newcastle backrower Joseph Tapine for 2016 as injury cover for star forwards Boyd Cordner and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.

It is understood the Roosters made inquires to the Knights and Tapine’s manager Jim Banaghan about the young backrower’s availability with the club reeling from long-term injuries to their two big name forwards.

The Roosters could be without Cordner (torn pec muscle) and Waerea-Hargreaves (knee) for the opening 10 rounds of the premiership and viewed Tapine as a short-term fix before he links with Canberra on a four-year deal from 2017.

A potential player swap scenario between the Roosters and the Knights was discussed before the forward poured cold water on any move to the Tricolours.

“He doesn’t want to go to the Roosters. His preference is to go to the Raiders early,” one source said.

“But that hinges on the Knights and the Raiders coming to some sort of agreement that would see Newcastle allow him to leave.”

Knights coach Nathan Brown could not be contacted on Thursday but it is understood he is not in favour of simply granting Tapine a release without the Knights benefiting from the transfer.

That was backed up by Knights CEO Matt Gidley, who said there has been dialogue with the Raiders but nothing has yet been resolved.

“We are working through our options with Joe and we have spoken to Canberra about the possibility of them taking him early,” Gidley said.

While he said no agreement has been reached, Gidley would not rule out a possible player swap.

“Ideally, you want both clubs to benefit but that is something that has to be worked through,” he said.

Joseph Tapine’s future is the subject of much speculation.

Asked if he had been contacted by the NRL or the Rugby League Players’ Association following claims by Banaghan on Wednesday the club was in breach of its contractual obligations and should release Tapine immediately after allegedly not allowing him to train with the rest of the squad, Gidley said: “I haven’t had one phone call today to be honest.

“Both the NRL and the RLPA have been well aware of the situation here with Joe and that there has been no directive from anyone at this club for him to train on his own as has been claimed.”

On the contrary, The Daily Telegraph understands Tapine was involved in a weights session on Tuesday with the NRL squad and did a field fitness session alongside prop Kade Snowden with the club’s high performance team on Wednesday morning.

Originally published as Sydney Roosters’ cheeky bid for Knights backrower Joseph Tapine