Parramatta Eels join the hunt for Manly Sea Eagles five-eighth Kieran Foran
James Hooper and James Phelps
The Daily Telegraph
November 07, 2014 12:00AM
THE Parramatta Eels are the latest club to join the queue to land the signature of Manly Sea Eagles and Kiwi Test five-eighth Kieran Foran, with the combination of coach Brad Arthur and Anthony Watmough shaping as two blue-and-gold aces.
Sport Confidential can reveal Foran has a huge opinion of Arthur from his time as an assistant at Manly, with the interest from the Eels taking the total number of clubs seriously chasing the New Zealand Test star to seven.
The Eels, Canterbury-Bankstown, the Roosters, the Warriors, Cronulla, Canberra and Foran’s existing club the Sea Eagles have all signalled an interest in signing the no.6, who is guaranteed to become one of the highest-paid players in the NRL.
Realistically, only the Eels, Bulldogs and the Roosters are genuine contenders to lure Foran away from the Sea Eagles’ Narrabeen headquarters, with all three holding influential trump cards.
Canterbury-Bankstown coach Des Hasler still enjoys an extremely tight bond with Foran, with the Bulldogs only just missing out on his signature the last time the Manly pivot was off-contract.
The Sydney Roosters also hold a strong hand, with Foran’s best mate from their days at Marist College in North Sydney, Mitchell Pearce, having previously stated how the pair would love to play for the same NRL side.
The Warriors obviously also believe they’re in a decent position, with owner Eric Watson forced to retract a Tweet trumpeting Foran’s signature last Sunday. Foran’s agent Paul Sutton declined to comment when asked about the intense interest in his client.
The Manly five-eighth is expected to make a call on his future early in the new year.
