http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2011/06/01/235601_sport.html
THE North Queensland Cowboys are in the hunt for Newcastle Knights second rower Cory Paterson and the good news for the club is that Paterson seems just as keen to make a move to Townsville.
Paterson could join North Queensland in a mid-season transfer depending on the results of negotiations between the Cowboys, Knights and Paterson - who is his own agent and contracted to Newcastle until the end of 2012.
He will have until June 30 to make a decision to relocate to Townsville if he wants to play in Cowboys' colours this season, which is the deadline for players wanting to make a mid-season move.
Newcastle confirmed yesterday that Paterson would have that option open to him with Knights' strategic development officer Keith Onslow telling the Townsville Bulletin a mid-season transfer to North Queensland would be given "all due consideration".
"If it progresses we'll all sit down and have a look at it," Onslow said. "June 30 is the cut-off point in the NRL so if it's going to happen it's got to happen before then."
Paterson paid his own way to make a weekend visit to Townsville when he toured the Cowboys' facilities and caught up with club officials.
The 23-year-old was joined by his young fiancee Sarah Donaldson during the trip and watched from the stands at Dairy Farmers Stadium on Saturday night as his potential future teammates rolled the hapless Sydney Roosters.
Is it believed that Paterson is being told to look elsewhere to make way under the salary cap for the likes of Darius Boyd, who is set to join supercoach Wayne Bennett at the Knights from St George Illawarra in 2012.
The Cowboys on the other hand are searching for some added depth in their back row department and believe that Paterson will provide suitable long-term back-up for back-row workhorses such as Glenn Hall and Dallas Johnson.
Cowboys general manager of football Peter Parr, who caught up with Paterson during the player's Townsville visit, said the Newcastle junior would be a good fit.
"He ticks off a lot of the boxes for us when it comes to off the field and what he'll bring to the team on the field," Parr said.
"And we've told him that if he were to be able to negotiate an appropriate release from his contract with the Knights, we'd have some interest in looking to bring him here.
"That's obviously dependent on him gaining a satisfactory outcome for himself from the Knights and then working out whether we'd be the club he'd like to play football for."
Paterson must have made an impression on the Cowboys during their 34-22 defeat at the hands of Newcastle back in round two of the current season. The second rower ran riot against North Queensland that game and punched through the Cowboys line three times, while his nine hit-ups added further misery for his opponents.
Parr said the Cowboys would not rush talks with Paterson and would not speculate on the length of any contract until talks progressed.
"Nothing has really gone past first base yet, so that's for further down the track if it gets to that stage," he said. "We've got to ensure that if he does come to the club that it doesn't hinder us re-signing some blokes that we already have within our ranks.
"We're not the major player here, he has to have some discussions with the Knights.
"Where we are in the pecking order for the clubs interested in him - I don't know - but we'll continue to maintain some dialogue with him and see if anything eventuates."
